


You Deserve It

by Yourmom



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Angst, Atleast 2000 to 4000 words each chapter, Drama, Everybody gets fluff, F/M, Fluff, Hidan is kind of a dick.., I may write like an idiot with my tags/notes but it's good trust me, Love, NSFW, Sexual Content, Smut, Sorry (not sorry), Story, The main characters appearance is up to the reader, i don't even care if I effed up on these tags, the Akatsuki get some fluff, there isn't any blank ___ appearance stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-26 17:45:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 91,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5014084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yourmom/pseuds/Yourmom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing nin of Senju descent that was previously on the run somehow finds herself included in various affairs such as becoming a trusted Akatsuki member, to finding love in the most inconvenient places, and even possibly becoming an asset for project Tsuki no Me. </p><p>Though one of the many life alerting trials and problems she faces in her journeys, is her brutal and complex past involving Amegakure's vicious and bloody civil war. <br/>War torn and seemingly hopeless, the skilled Kunoichi meanders toward an aimless path, that is until she meets a certain few whose ideals change her life forever.. </p><p>This is a semi-reader insert!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Perfect Storms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT:  
> I AM CURRENTLY REVISING THE EARLY CHAPTERS! 
> 
> I don't own Naruto or anything relating to it, don't sue me

Departure was something she always knew, as if it was second-nature.

Being able to leave a situation without worry of commitment was easy, but once the pleasure of abusing that luxury has worn off, you can be left with a sense of unfulfilled emptiness that breaks life's natural cycle of having some sort of stability.

  
Fleeting similar to raindrops that shrouded over the slightly enclosed rocky outskirts of Amegakure, Akira's footsteps increased in pace when a strong sense of chakra came into the area, practically suffocating her within the small vicinity of the rocky crag.

 

Underneath the heavy signature village rain cloak, her hand rested upon the hidden katana that lay beneath the thick, water resistant frabric.  
Shoulders slightly hunching, and her head tipped underneath the straw hat that shielded her from the downpour -- she was on alert.

Let's be real here, knowing whoever or _whatever_ was alarmingly close, and being a missing nin of Amegakure would give anyone an antsy feeling.

Having that infamous title, no matter what land you reign from, usually meant a life of seclusion when having a large bounty over your head. So upon feeling the heavy chakra signatures that were obviously making themselves known purposely set an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Although she figured they probably just wanted her acknowledgement of their presence for her to take some sort initiative, though she couldn't keep one question in particular from entering her mind..

 _'Is it a trap?'_ She thought fearing the worst, but instead decidinh to press her dumb luck. Something she had enormous amounts of lately.

As if daring her unwelcomed company, she comes to a sudden halt in frivolous steps. Whatever it was, this creep had some nerve sneaking up on her.

"I know you're there." She calmly states, voice hiding the actually already frazzled shinobi within.

She stands motionless, besides the quivering slightly bent leg that had been previously injured and somehow she seems to hide even that fairly well.

"I come to you with a proposal."  
She flinches as a deep toned voice finally decides to make its statement, causing her to spin around in the direction of the said voice.

 

_*Swooosh..*_

 

The kunoichi's dark grey Ame cloak flapped around her as she turned to catch the gaze of red eyes flashing in her direction, as if staring her down in a battle of silent dominance. 

The intimidation was very real, but the actual surprise of the situation made her mouth fall agape, and her own set of eyes bulge to the size of saucers.

If it wasn't for the low brimmed hat and the collared cloak shielding her from their view, she would look comical.

She was beyond shocked. No, it wasn't because of the standard akatsuki cloak adorning the two strangers, nor the giant fucking sword one of the men had resting lazily on his shoulder, but the fact that the other had a pair of Dōjutsu as crimson as the blood leaking from her poorly wrapped wound. The Sharingan to be exact and they bored into her, mentally leaving fiery pits into her skull.

She stood in front of the two feeling vulnerable, especially from _his_ gaze, but even with her previous history involving Sharingan-wielders and the like, she wanted to get whatever they wanted done and over with, because the it didn't take a genius to realize the situation she was in was dangerous.  
"What would Akatsuki want with me?" She questioned shortly, unsure to dip her feet in the shark infested waters that surely had such beasts waiting on her.

"I assume you already know." The man with piercing Dōjutsu replied coolly. His stance relaxed and his collared cloak shielding a sum of his face from prying eyes. Despite this you could tell he was seemingly beautiful.  
And the fact that he didn't seem at all bothered with being a few meters across a fellow missing nin, gave him a mysterious atmosphere, which made our beloved protagonist quirk an eyebrow in curiosity. 

"I would rather avoid a struggle. As you can see my intentions currently are not to harm you." The Sharingan user stated, noticing her stance differentiate and the flex of her arm bow out, readying an attack if needed even despite his peaceful words.

  
"I find it hard to believe that you aren't here for my head." She said unconvinced.

  
The Akatsuki are notorious for carrying their fresh prey's skull in a knapsack for a large sum of money. Knowing this information will leave you weary of a vilified shinobi's true intentions.  
"Trust me, if that were so then you would have already been departed from us by now." He said matter of factly.  
The larger mans constant pompous sneer faltered for once in the encounter "Are we going somewhere with this, Itachi?" The blue-ish tinted male barked.  
His head tilted sharply to the side while speaking then to snap back to its place, as if to exaggerate his words directed to his raven-haired partner. She could tell he is quite the animated individual.

"I'm guessing donning the title Akatsuki isn't making me clear enough." The one presumably Itachi complained.  
Gripping the hilt of her katana with even more force, turning her knuckles white and glaring at the two, she waited for one of them to initiate combat. The large man's frown resided back to its natural grin, and a gleam shone in his unnaturally small eyes.

"Perhaps we don't have to take her head but testing her skill shouldn't hurt." He enthusiastically replied.

His stance shifted ever so slightly, the grip on his sword tightened to a degree. The obvious bloodlust was already pumping the needed adrenaline through his veins like an icy fire.

"She's obviously injured, she wouldn't be much of a fight, than a slaughter, Kisame." Itachi inquired to his partner, doubting the kunoichi.  
His eyes closed out of annoyance, only for them to open once more with Kisame's grin growing even wider by the second.

  
"I can smell the blood from here.."

  
Becoming quite unnerved, Akira slowly lifts two fingers from underneath her rain cloak to slightly tilt her Kasa ( _traditional thatch hat_ ) upwards, revealing her undoubtedly confused face.

"What is it you want then?" The rain glided off her hat in a stream as she awaited her answer.

"You have been summoned to the Akatsuki." The mysterious male answered, slightly glaring as he began awaiting for denial.  
But as if to add a match to the fire he continued "This isn't a question."

"I'll be more than happy to sate Samehada if the answer is no." His partner quickly added.

Moving his elbow out a little more, showing off the said sword, clearly asserting his dominance.  
To say she wasn't scared was a lie. The two before her obviously had the upper hand. Being already injured and exhausted had its disadvantages. On bent knee she sighed, what was she suppose to do?  
She knew her strength but was she really in the right position to deny something that might result in her untimely death? 

She smirked "And that's a proposal?" She sarcastically remarked.

"It can be. Your life or your loyalty."  
Man, how cocky!  
Her grin falling, she eyed the too as if weighing her options and after a brief moment she replied,  
"How do I know if I can trust you?"

"You can't, you'll just have to take my word for it."  
Her eyebrows knitted together, studying the Sharingan user. If his words were true what did he actually have in plan for her?

It was common knowledge that swiftly after Hanzō's leadership of the hidden rain village the head official of the notorious mercenary group called the Akatsuki, took siege of control over Amegakure. Though this leader has taken good care of the country and its civilians, can he still be trusted summoning a fellow missing nin of the said country without taking her life?  
Perhaps it was a risk she was willing to take.

"I suppose you make a point.." She muttered a little uncomfortable admitting it.

"It's settled then, come." Itachi replied calmly, motioning with an arm to follow as he smoothly walked past the two left in his trail, taking her debatable reply as obedience.

  
Kisame gave a disgruntled look as he sheathed his Samehada and began trotting behind his partner, with the woman in his wake.  
For Kisame leaving a situation without some sort of fight wasn't something he enjoyed, but he respected his partner due to them having a common ground of betrayal.

 

"What's your reason anyway?" Kisame asked curiously turning his head slightly to the female hesitantly trailing next to him.  
"Did forcing someone into something ever occur to you?" Perhaps sarcasm wasn't the way to go, because all she got in return was a blank stare. 

"Perhaps redemption.. or if it helps to make it a bit more simpler, you could say my reason is as good as any, and leave it at that."  
She stated turning to face the unusual looking man, then finally tilt her Kasa upwards to give him a well practiced and charming smile.

  
Losing interest quickly and facing forward again, he rests his hands behind his head, letting out a scoff.  
An attempt to feign being unfazed even though a real answer still interested him.  
Everybody was seeking some sort of redemption, and everybody had some type of story.  
So how was she any different?

 

 ▁ ▂ ▃◤☽◢ ◉ ◣☾◥▃ ▂ ▁ ★~(◠﹏◕✿) ▁ ▂ ▃◤☽◢ ◉ ◣☾◥▃ ▂ ▁

 

  
After a long while listening to the two Akatsuki's failed attempt at a conversation, the sun began to set over the horizon, giving it a dreamy look.

Akira let a little sigh of relief escape her lips, mentally thanking Kami for the rain letting up a bit. Ame's territory was obviously known for its thunderous downpours, and continuous dull weather, but this particular afternoon was quite uncommon.

The kunoichi noted how the clouds caused a whirling effect letting some of the sun through, and making the rays illuminate the clouds, giving it a dreamsicle like glow.

It was lovely and seemed highly unusual, but Akira's injured appendage was becoming some sort of a problem for her, so she didn't really spend the time to take in its full glory before giving an effort to not buckle her knees and fall to the dirt floor of this now semi wooded foothills.

She didn't want to be waited on, or let them watch her grit her teeth and wince at the small action of keeping up with the Akatsuki partners, (which she was failing at) but in all honesty the fatigue and agony was becoming a heavy burden, and she didn't know if she could keep up with the facade any longer.

  
Finally, with Leg wobbling and blood trailing down a partially covered thigh, she ceased her tortuous walking.            

 Something she was yearning for the moment the excruciating ache began.

She brought her forearm out from under the slightly slacking cloak, and leaned it against the moist bark of a tree set adjacently on her path, shifting most of her weight on the support. Honestly the worries of being scolded by one of the men, (most likely by the much larger and brazen male.) didn't really bother her that much, now that she was finding comfort in catching a break. She knew it wouldn't last long though, but either way, she pulled her Kasa off her head letting it lean on her back with the string attached, keeping it from gravities effect and took a moment to stay off the injury.

  
Kisame seemed to be the first to notice the lagging companion or Itachi just didn't seem to care.  Now aware, the blue skinned Akatsuki faltered in his steps, turning himself around to examine the woman of her problem.

"Oi, this isn't the time for a game of catch up, girlie!" Kisame shouted over the rain, with him not so happy about her wasting his time.

Itachi abruptly halted in his steps in the front also, no look of concern or confusion seemed to paint his face, perhaps maybe he already sensed her problem, unlike his partner.

Without a reply from the woman except for another small wince and a glance in his direction, Kisame swiftly skipped to her spot under the tall canopying trees guarding them from the downpour of rain.                                                               

Once he made his way to her, his lips immediately dropped into a frown upon noticing the propped out damaged leg that entered his line of vision.

"For someone who Pein-sama speaks highly of, I'm surprised you've already given up." He muttered more to himself than her.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the obligation he felt to at least get her back to base in one piece, then he wouldn't even bother with the strange woman, but she didn't seem as though she wanted to draw this out any longer than he did, so there was something they could agree on he supposed.  

She gave a short glare focused on the ill-treated thigh, as though silently gesturing to her ailment.

Kisame rolled his eyes, and not so gently began pushing the woman's back against the tree, causing her to let out a small breathy sound.

To get a better look at the injury, he squatted down, face level to her hips, and pushed the grey cloak flaps away from obstructing his view, revealing slightly tattered ninja fatigues except for ripped cloth exposing a thigh.

Her eyes widened at his initiative, as his large hands practically encompassed the small thigh and pull down the soaked bandages to reveal a brutal and large gash on the smooth skin. 

Almost immediately the flustered kunoichi looked away out of embarrassment of being somewhat manhandled.

"W-what do you think you're doing?" She demands trying to sound a little more authoritative, but ends up sounding soft spoken and nervous due to the throbbing pain of the newly exposed wound.

  
Hearing nothing but silence from the man using his unoccupied hand to fish for something out of his heavy cloak, she comes to realize he just ignored her. 

Not really worried about if he offended her or not, he finally reveals a small pouch, with its content only known to him.

Uncaringly, the kunoichi succumbed to the silence and took notice of Itachi slowly backtracking the distance between him and the two.

A sudden feeling of vulnerability began to creep up her spine once witnessing out of the corner of her eye the obsidian haired male studiously staring at her, as though he were taking in every detail her form had to offer and using it for some sort of mental analysis. His methodical gaze complimented his mysterious exterior, that much was true, and she could probably spend all day wondering what exactly was behind it or what he was hiding, but who wouldn't ogle a stranger who you had hardly any information about, especially if you're being forced to make some what of a trek with them. 

"A-aah!"

She jerks her head to her throbbing thigh, the source of the pain that snapped her back to reality from her consuming absentmindedness.  

Seeing calloused hands smoothing a clear jelly like substance over her laceration, she couldn't help but feel appreciative for him sparing whatever he had to help her, but his rough ministrations were not making the sting of the antiseptic like goo any better.

"Can you be a little b-bit more gentle?" She seethed through gritted teeth, all the while her lower body involuntarily squirming to get out of his grasp, whether he liked it or not.  He quickly uses an arm to restrain her by the hips, palms encompassing her side.

 "Quit squirming! You're only making it worse!" He barks at her annoyed with his gaze not leaving the thigh as he continues his work. 

Figuring he might be right, she gives an effort to not tear more of the tender flesh with her movements, as the fiery sensation of the goo continues to attack her senses. 

Trying to find something to direct her attention on besides the agonizing seconds of the salve setting in, she looked away from him and his fixed gaze, and attempt to focus her mind on literally  _anything_.

There wasn't anything really exciting to see in all honesty. Well enough to really ensnare her at least.

The chilling breeze flowing through her hair, making goose bumps raise up from her skin...  The little pat pat pats of the rain drops hitting the tree leaves above...  And... Itachi..?

He wasn't staring at her anymore, that was for sure, but what exactly _was_ he staring at?

Immediately she curiously followed his gaze to the neighboring field near them, then fixed her eyes to the old wooden structure of a shack or overhearing of some sort a considerable distance away.

If he was thinking what she was, then they both knew the place obviously hadn't been maintained for quite some time and could probably be a good place to rest momentarily. At least she hoped he was thinking that..

 With the pain finally subsiding into feeling something similar to pin pricks dancing across her skin, she nodded towards Kisame graciously, noticing him doing the finishing touches on the new wrappings and moving to stand back up.  

"Arigato.." She mutters, sinking to her knees, hoping to help the over exhaustion done to the limb.

Valuing a little bit of her personal space, he stepped a little ways from her and reflexively rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah well, can't have you bleeding to death before we even get there." He grumbles, unsure how to respond to the gratitude.

 "I'm assuming your guild's hideout is our destination then?" She assumes looking up at the towering man in front of her. 

Letting his arm fall back to his side, Kisame attempted to explain, 

"The city of Amegakure."

Itachi says still turned towards the direction of the field, and seemingly feeling apathetic about interrupting Kisame before he could start. 

Akira looks at the mysterious Akatsuki as if expecting him to continue.

"We'll wait till night fall, we aren't too far away. It should also give you time to stay off your injury for us to make it to the base." Itachi turns his head, giving her a slightly menacing side glance.

Miraculously the rain begins to let up and orange and yellow rays of light suddenly begin to break through the clouds, illuminating the side of him she couldn't see. The effect ensues the side of his profile facing her to cast a shadow over his face. 

His Sharingan taking refuge in the dark, giving it a even more dangerously vibrant crimson hue. She looked at him in awe for a brief moment, his shadow consuming her kneeling form as he continued.

"If you decide to cause anymore hinderances before we get there, I won't hesitate to put you down." His glare bored holes into her startled gaze giving the threat even more fuel.

He was heavenly.. with a dangerous undertone, and he could leave her awestruck and scared shitless at the same time, enough to make a shiver roll down her spine. 

This made her realize he truly was a force to be reckoned with.

He ceased his devastating glare and turned back around to face the direction of the housing structure, coolly sauntering towards it and letting his words leave their impact with her to be once again bathed in the suns setting light.

The space between the silently sulking kunoichi's brow furrowed, and her head tilted downwards a small degree only for it to snap back up again when a different shadow towered over her.

 Her eyes suddenly met a hand outstretched towards her, looking up to see Kisame, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Come on, girlie. I ain't got all day." His tone surprisingly playful and reassuring as he gestured his hand for her to take it.

She must of been staring way too long from the way he shook his hand a bit, as though he were telling her to hurry up, but honestly the small offer shocked her.

He was actually quite considerate despite being apart of the seemingly cold blooded and infamous organization called the Akatsuki. He may appear bold and a little rude at times, but for some reason she could see herself getting along with him..

Giving him a warm smile she took his hand, and let him lift her off the ground with one good pull. Releasing his hand from her smaller one, he gave her a swift rough pat to her back, with unnecessary force.

"Ack!"

The unexpected move caused her to lurch forward making her lose balance, before catching her footwork just in the nick of time and missing a humiliating fall.

His laughing immediately filled the area, but she figured his horsing around was somewhat refreshing from just a minute ago of being verbally confused and scared.

 She rolled her eyes, letting a small smile play on her lips, as the large mans laughter slowly faded.

His carefree attitude was so addicting, it was just enough to lighten up her mood and continue to follow after the wandering Akatsuki member, in hopes for another moment of rest. 


	2. Lost in Focus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! 
> 
> (✿◠◡◠) Feel free to leave kudos or a comment! ☆(❁◡❁)☆

Splintering wood shavings clacked to the floor quietly as the charming woman sat comfortably on the old veranda, carving intricately into the small splint with a kunai.  
Hands smoothing over the wood attached to a small chain linking it to the katana. 

With Akira's attention solely focused on the detailed design with a seemingly relaxed expression, she could hear the blue toned male lean over the rickety railing, and huff rather audibly.

  
Noticing the slight puff similar to a child plagued with boredom, the kunoichi near him was dragged out her thoughts and lifted an eyebrow as though she were guessing his ailment.

  
"I hear Amegakure is having a Halloween festival." She said hoping to cure his boredom with a conversation.

  
Kisame turned his head slightly around to see her not looking up from the blade and unfinished charm.  
"I've never been the one for that kind of thing." He muttered, ruffling his hair briefly.

Honestly it wouldn't hurt to talk to the girl, I mean if he planned on seeing her around the Akatsuki base, then it would probably be best to at least have a few conversations with her under his belt. Doing so made him see things being a lot less awkward in the future for them both anyway.

"I bet it's beautiful.. It's been such a long while since I've seen the the hidden rain again."  
She muttered reminiscing of years before her life of reclusiveness.

"What, caught in the wrong bed and kicked out?" He mischievously questioned, still slightly curious of the woman's purpose but not wanting to voice his interest.

  
She scoffed hardly offended by the inappropriate comment. 

It's been a while since she's dealt with such brash men, well not brash _and_ obviously dangerous _S-rank missing nin_ , but still she could handle the occasional tease every now and then. Perhaps it was because she was usually the one doing the teasing, given the chance.

  
"I'll have you know my charm isn't the only thing that people are outraged over!" She exclaimed in a know-it-all voice.  
He chuckled, plopping down at the entrance of the 'shack' near her with his arms resting behind his head.  
"Yeah, yeah, I guess you'll just have to show me then." He teased once again noticing a soft smile grace her lips.

  
Her attitude appeared passive and kind natured, but it also seemed as a front.

She could be rather spacey too, like she was constantly lost in her thoughts.. he couldn't help but wonder where her mind was at, as is it most likely seemed like she was constantly stuck in it.

Suppose it didn't particularly bother him though, Itachi didn't talk much besides the occasional opinion of the mission.  Though he got along with him just fine, and he could even admit that Itachi was somehow his friend despite his mysterious demeanor, bur he couldn't deny, at times he found himself quite bored unless he was in combat, so this was somewhat refreshing.

"You can repay me for my handiwork on your wound with some sparring after Kakuzu stitches ya up." He continued lazily.

  
Akira quirked an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

"Kakuzu?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's an Akatsuki, you wouldn't know it but the greedy bastard is believed to be as old as the Senju." He gossiped, but something clicked within her.

The Senju. The name itself brought a lot of unwanted memories back..  
Her head snapped up from the meticulous design, blinking a few times from surprise. She attempted suppressing her initial shock,  
"How is it possible for him to be that old?"

It wasn't the time or place to bring up the Senju.

"Hell if I know.. Him and his partner are a couple of zombies. You think being immortal would give them some common ground, instead they can't go five minutes without trying to hack each others heads off." He chuckled.

"Somehow I can see that.." She muttered under her breath.

  
"Huh?"

  
"Well I figure if you're both immortal, all that time together is bound to make you clash." She stated quietly.

Kisame gives out an acknowledging 'hmm' sound as he leans farther back to the wall, closing his eyes.

  
The relaxing aura radiating from the two was pleasant, and gave her enough time to gather some courage to discuss a concerning topic as the few brief moments pass by.

"I'm guessing this 'Pein' has something he wants from me."

He gives a surprised look her way, before it quickly fades, realizing she was put in a strange situation and left in the dark about a lot of things.

 "Hmm, I had a feeling you were going to ask that, but honestly I don't know a lot about what's going in that head of his right now. You must be one helluva fight if he's requesting you." There's a little pause before he shrugs and continues with an unimpressed expression, "Personally I don't see it, you look pretty weak to me."

In truth, she really didn't know why she was surprised to know he had already sized her up or something, but it still was particularly offensive, and enough for her to glare at him and open her mouth, readying herself with a retort to say something like 'fucking fight me', but soon she's quickly interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Sometimes those who appear the weakest can harness incredible power." Itachi's smooth tone interjected behind the two, leaning against the the door frame with his arms crossed, eyes shut.

Perhaps that was compliment coming from him, he still was an enigma to her, and she was pretty sure that wasn't going to change, but the fact that he was possibly eavesdropping, (unintentionally or intentionally) gave her a little hint to what his well hidden personality was like..  

The question of how long he had been standing here irked her as she turned to her face, but quickly snapped her head back to the front upon noticing his eyes opening and giving her one of those cold calculating gazes that made her jittery and nervous.

Kisame snorted in amusement once witnessing the little blush that painted her cheeks as she continued to avoid the Uchiha's lingering eyes that we're currently fixed on the back of her head.

Of course it unnerved her. Hell that guys whole persona did, but she didn't plan on letting him know that.

"We should be leaving.." He says nonchalantly and as she had hoped he curtly moves through the two and off the open veranda.

 Watching Itachi slowly trail away, she figured he was probably right. It _was_ twilight out and with a few wobbly juts to the small space between the porch and ground, her leg seemed numb enough to press forward to Amegakure. 

So on shaky knees, she stood from her previous disposition, deciding to return the same previous favor Kisame did for her. Outstretching a hand towards him, she offered her assistance but she could see the little suspicious glance he gave it before grabbing his Samehada first, then accepting the proposal.

He probably noticed the little smirk she was giving, but she didn't care. She was in the mood for a little mischief anyway...

When pulling him up,

_*SLAP*_

She gives him a hard pat to the back, with even more force than he did with her, and waited for him to fall off the veranda with the evil grin still lingering on her face.  

He didn't even budge and hilarity did not ensue..  

 

_Fuck._

 

Her face quickly drops into horror as he turns his head to give her a knowing side glance, and his smirk growing even wider at her frazzled expression.

Well _of course_ she just _had_ to toy with one of the most intimidating and dangerous men she's ever seen! She really had to pat herself on the back for that kind of dumbassery!

A sheepish smile soon adorns her with arms raised in defense, all the while laughing nervously and hoping he wouldn't take the tom foolery as an opportunity for a fight.

Thankfully the muscular missing nin gives a small chuckle instead, sheathing his Samehada and steps off the somewhat raised wooden porch. 

This guy was so strange.

 

 ▇▆◤ ㊛ ◥▆▇⋌⋋╱╲⋌⋋ ⋌ ▌ ◤◐ ☯ ◑◥ ▌⋋ ⋌⋋╱╲⋌⋋▇▆◤ ㊚ ◥▆▇

 

' _You should of said welcome to the dark underbelly of the city streets..'_

Wet asphalt, cramped dark streets, and shady civilians.

 A city with.. _character_..  

The Main Streets lit up with festivities and paper lanterns casting orange hues that bounced of the slick steel walls of Amegakure.  The bustle in the artery of the city was nearing its height for the night but  Octobers festivals weren't even close to an end.

The crowds of people were lively, and if you looked at the avenues from a lonely corridor of the city, you can see how the masses seem to almost move in a slow motion symphony.

And Akira was doing just that.

  "We have to keep moving." Itachi said quietly brushing past her in the small corridor, and not giving her a second glance. 

Snapping back to reality --something that was becoming a bit of a habit lately-- she followed after the two Akatsuki, wondering just where they were headed.  

 _'How long has it been since I've been in this city?'_ She thought feeling a pang of melancholy washed over her, the sensation almost leaving her in an absentminded autopilot state.

The place had really grown from when she had once seen it. War had really left it's scar on the Hidden Rain, she knew that much, but for some reason the people littering the streets and engaging in the exciting festivities seemed to be more relaxed and lively than what they used to be. She expected to be happy to see this, but instead she couldn't help but feel a bit sad about being left out on its path to recovery..

"I'm not leaving you!" An unknown female voice exclaimed.

Akira stopped dead in her tracks only for her to peer down an intersecting corridor leading to the well lit festival streets.  Cocking her head at the familiar words, she listened in more intently.

"You have to do it alone." Another voice explained, this time it was male.

The cramped alleyway allowed the voices to triple its effect, echoing off the steel but hearing the same words repeated back to her from a previous time was surreal, and she almost didn't want to listen to them, but it was lIke watching a train wreck. You couldn't stop watching, or eavesdropping in this case..  

Her eyes tried focusing in on the voices direction, but she was still having a hard time on locating its source.

"Then I'll never let you go!" The female voice replied in a more playful manner.

Her stomach flipped at the words.

 _'What is this?'_ She mentally questioned, not liking the uneasy feeling she was getting.

Finally she caught sight of the two assailants having somewhat of a playful dispute over entering a haunted attraction. (Spooky)

_*Tap.. Tap..*_

She inched a bit closer, her footsteps smacking against the wet asphalt as she continued to listen to the presumed couple's conversation, completely forgetting her game of catch up.

Fingers raising up to trail along the slick walls of the alleyway, her mind began lingering somewhere far away.

_*Tap.. Tap..*_

Soon it felt like she had tunnel vision once getting a glimpse of the oh so familiar white hair and dark eyes ghosting her peripheral. 

_'It can't be! '_

Her sight immediately scanning the sea of people for the memento and almost instantly her eyes locked onto the face of a memory.

 Her stomach dropped. "K-Kurou?" She whispered.

A memory.. That's all he _could_ be, but did that mean she could just let him go?

To disappear into the crowds and never to be seen again? Or run up to him and find out she had mistaken a stranger for a significant other from the past? 

Either way the the little figment and the name itself brought up a world of ghosts that haunted her to this day but he didn't seem to notice her.

The glimpse of his face left as soon as it appeared along with his figure disappearing behind a crowd, just as she thought it would.  

Her eyes fluttered in confusion as she tried to establish her sense of reality again.

 Her internal battle was quickly shot down when she felt her feet move involuntarily, sprinting in the direction he was last seen. There was no way in hell she was going to leave him again, even if it was figment of her imagination or a wandering pedestrian, she was going to find out.

The easily distinguishable man was her sensei, friend, role model, and...  

Whizzing her way into the sea of apathetic bystanders, her cloak flew behind her as she attempted to keep her head above water to catch sight of him again.

 _'..and I'll be damned if he gets away again!'_ Finishing the thought, the kunoichi soon realized she was losing her sense of direction as she spun herself around the endless supply of pedestrians that seemed to be in every direction she looked.  

The music and sounds of the festival were at its height, making her heart beat in time with the fast pace rhythm of the traditional drums playing somewhere nearby.

Suddenly, her foot caught onto something as she smacked into someone, and ungracefully spilled onto the cold asphalt with her bracing forearms making a wet smacking sound.

"Oi! Watch yourself!" A voice barked at her, and it almost frightened her by the sheer malice laced within the tone, but the situation at hand replaced any emotion similar to embarrassment, sympathy or shame with raw determination. 

So obviously it didn't deter her as she scrambled to her feet and bolt towards the newfound sight of the colorless locks disappearing in the direction of the notorious Rikudō Sennin statue.

It was making no sense, she couldn't comprehend exactly why he was heading there but the adrenaline was beginning to cloud her thoughts and any attempt to rationalize the unbelievable scenario.

_*Tap! Tap! Tap!*_

_*Screeeech!*_

Her heels dragged into the concrete as she abruptly halted at the opening of a nameless warehouse near the towering monument.

Even with her chest pounding through her eardrums and the restless racing thoughts, she didn't have to remind herself of the dangers of being considered a missing nin in the bustling city she happened to be racing around.  So almost instantly she pressed her back firmly into the wall, then poked her head around the corner to peer into the hopefully vacant warehouse.  

The only thing she could hear was the little drops of water smacking into the dirty floor and the excited cheers and squeals of the citizens, enjoying their night of celebration.  

It was strange though, no feeling of chakra in the area.. not even Kurou's - the white haired male that seemed to be hiding from her purposely.. At least that was the only explanation she could think of as she dashed towards the stairs near the end of the empty depot.

Finally making it up the second flight, she briefly paused, watching her target fly pass the corner ahead of her.

"Kur-!" Her attempt to flag him down was stopped short as she let out a grunt of discomfort upon feeling the jagged gash on her leg split and pain rip through her upper thigh. 

Frustrated, she forced her self up the remaining flight to the roof, uncaring if she caused anymore damage to it, all she wanted was to catch him. And that she did, once flinging herself through the open doorway and seeing his back faced towards her ominously.

His features couldn't be detailed from the angle she was standing at, but she could see the black sky contradicting his signature snow colored hair, and the orange lights of the festival from below lighting the rooftop and illuminating his silhouette.

 "Kurou? Please just, tell me it's you.." She pleaded, eyes beginning to water slightly from the strong wind.

"Pretty close.." He muttered, she cold hear the smirk in his voice.  But it was.. unnatural.. Almost like it held two different octaves, as though two separate individuals were wishing to speak harmoniously. 

"Wha..? What are you talking about?" She was beyond unnerved, but the unbelievable display of him being so _close_ to her silenced the little warning bElla going off in her head.  

Slowly advancing closer to his place near the edge of the building she attempted to find the right words to say.

"How are you here, Kurou?" Well, it wasn't the most creative question but it was the only thing she could think about and it was still pretty direct at getting her answers. 

 _'Why isn't he answering me?'_ She thought noticing his silence and stoic appearance.

Letting her guard down, her eyebrows creased in confusion when she came within arms length of him.

"A-Are you really here...?" She reached out to touch his arm but, before it could make contact he seized her wrist, and slowly turned his head to face her.

A rather loud gasp escaped her lips when his gaze met hers.

 

-

 

His dark eyes gleamed with excitement as Kurou handed Akira a small wrapped box with festive patterns.

 Her young face showing emotions ranging from surprise to excitement and finally curiosity.

"What's in it?" She asked quirking an eyebrow at the outstretched hand.

"Well it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it now?" He said shaking the box a little, waiting for her to take it.

She gave a lopsided smile as she tentatively took it and unwrapped the gift.

Immediately her eyes lit up in amusement seeing the kunai laying delicately wrapped inside.  But with great surprise, the look on her face rapidly changed to one of concern.  

"Eh? What's wrong? You don't like it?" Kurou asked, his expression matching hers.

"Sensei, I can't accept this." She replied shaking her head and setting the box delicately on the night stand next to her.

"Oh come on, it's somewhat of an antique! My sensei gave it to me and now I want to give to you! After all it _is_ your birthday." He explained grinning cheekily, and nudging the unclosed box towards the 16 year old.

Her expression softened once studying the detailed design that engraved her full name, along with Kurou's and his now deceased sensei's.

She didn't want to have to accept the gift, because it meant she had to accept the fact that she was competent and old enough to finally leave his side and complete their final mission _together_. Well, maybe it didn't mean they weren't going to see each other again, but it did mean the end of all missions with him..

She was surprised to see him move to encompass her hand in his, then curling her fingers to make her wrap them around the hilt of the Kunai.

"Now you don't have to worry about being afraid," 

He slowly tore his hand from hers after pushing the blade towards her chest.

 "Because as long as you carry this you'll never have to be alone." He finished with a warm smile stretched across his face.

A light blush spread across her nose and cheeks from the endearment as she sat on her cot.  Overwhelmed, she stared at her lap in thought still clutching the kunai to her breast. 

His words struck a chord within her and played on her heartstrings like the bittersweet song of a harp. This meant more to her than he knew.

"Arigato, Kurou-sensei!" The teen exclaimed through tears that began to well up in her eyes.

He knew what it was like to be alone too. He probably would understand the loneliness that even plagued her to the current day if he had the chance, but she knew that wasn't possible. .

She always acknowledged that to be responsible of your own actions is a commitment that takes effort, and isn't for the weak hearted and watching others with the luxury of dividing this burden could make you envious, even cold hearted, but having someone with you who understood your ailments and emptiness was a godsend. 

He took his struggle in stride and made it look easy. Even learning and growing from it. The kind hearted man truly was someone to look up to in her eyes and she honestly couldn't ask for more.

"Tomorrow morning we'll be heading out. Be ready."  He said quietly, the smile never leaving his lips. Tilting her head up to look at him, he quickly patted her head and left the room. Leaving the young shinobi with her thoughts once again. Unbeknownst to her, the kunoichi's companionship would be brutally taken from her, like most of the things in her life were.. 

The Kurou she knew wasn't the same one that stood in front of her, gripping her wrist with excessive force.  
His aura was unsettling and his eyes were flat, as if the liveliness was sucked out of them, but God despite this he looked exactly the same as she remembered.  
She stared in disbelief, unsure what to say until

* _SNAP_ *

She sucked in air as if forgetting how to breathe.

* _CRACK_ *

This time she let out a strangled yelp of pain, realizing he had snapped her fingers backwards.

"SENSEI!" She practically screamed clutching her recently escaped hand.

"I can't have you trying anything." He said referencing the reason why he broke them.

  
He eyed her face as it scrunched in agony and confusion. 

"Unfortunately you're going to be left with a decision to make." Changing the topic, he pulled her head back up by the hair to steal her attention from her deformed fingers.  
She cringed, was this him?  
Hell, if he didn't even look remotely similar to Kurou he would've been dead by now.  
But could you kill something that was already dead?

"It all depends on your will to control it." He said finishing his vague speech, while releasing her head as she stumbled back to look at him in terror.  
The prediction was so ill defined that she didn't know what to make of it.

* _Shing, Shing, Shing!*_

The sound of his hand seals forming filled the area as he took a step forward causing him to plummet to the street below.

  
She gasped completely frightened by this doppelgängers show, nefore leaning to gaze over the edge.

  
Nothing.

Only the festival that was ignorant to the theater that played above them.

Unknown to her a cloud hovered above the city.  
Releasing a drop of rain to fall and splatter on Akira's nose, she disappeared soon after.

 

 

◸ 〈 〉⊰Ω⊱ 〈 〉◹ ┱┲ ʕु-̫͡-ʔु” ┱┲ ◸ 〈 〉⊰℧⊱ 〈 〉◹

 

 

 

Dust clung to her forehead as a light sheen of sweat collected on her skin. 

She hadn't even noticed she was sweating in the first place, but the one thing she could feel was the stress that had really put a toll on her body. 

The little aches in her body were ignored, the only thought running through her mind was the question of if that really happened or had she imagined it. 

The pain shooting through her fingers validated that the situation was entirely real.

But _really_.. could it have been? The rational part of her mind was screaming _'Definitely not!'_ , claiming it just had to be a pathetic state of mind, or deriving from some sort of exhausted mentality of hers.

  Or that could just be wishful thinking.. but the abrupt intrusion of her thoughts wouldn't allow her to focus on the persistent question for too long.

"You've caused yourself a lot of harm, haven't you?" Akira's eyes fluttered opened. The voice she heard near her was serious yet soothing, and it was distinctly female.

 Lifting her head off the ground and sitting up, her fuzzy vision focused on a very lovely lady adorned in a signature Akatsuki cloak. 

The kunoichi's eyes soaked in the beautiful woman's appearance, noting she had strange colored hair and unique Amber eyes that seem to analyze her every muscle fluctuation. 

She stared right back at her in awe and uncertainty, but she could come to the conclusion that her appearance was ultimately sublime..

Akira followed the stunning woman's fixed look down to her hand, assuming she was referencing her contorted two fingers.  Clutching her wrist and curling it into her lap, she shielded it from the woman's gaze, with it still hurting like hell, but the shock of the situation numbed most of the pain, for at least the moment.

"Who are you?" Akira asked, avoiding the woman's prior inquiry.

"I'm Pein-sama's subordinate. There is no reason to be afraid, I haven't the intention to harm you." The lavender haired female replied, mistaking Akira's awe for fear.

  
Akira looked down and shook her head in disbelief, a small smile making its way to her face.

  
"No, I'm asking you what's your name?"

The attractive woman's equally lavender eyebrows drew together from her unexpected behavior.  
"Konan." She replied curtly.  
Standing up to examine the room, she found it uninterestingly bleak, besides a kotatsu with a white sheet covering it in the softly lit room.

"Where am I exactly, Konan-san?"

"You're underneath the Akatsuki base. We were able to locate you using the rain and transport you here safely."  
The explanation didn't do much for the lightheaded shinobi, but she decided to not press for a better answer, and instead brushed it off for the time being and focused on the reason as to why she was here.  
"I'm assuming you're looking for clarification?" She hit the nail on the head with that one.  
Akira shook her head eagerly.  
"You've been fortunate enough to have my attention and more importantly our Leader's.  
If you're able to show us your true strength then we can help you control it for your benefit and our own." Konan stated with a cold stare gracing her feminine features.

What a warm welcoming.  
Hi, yeah, we've been watching you for sometime and you've been lucky enough to be innocently kidnapped, so um could you let us harness that power of yours for our own gain? K thnx.  
Okay maybe it didn't go exactly like that, but she couldn't help but feel as though these people are doing whatever they want with hardly any regard.  
Maybe Akira was just being a pushover she always has been..

"And how is control a benefactor for me?" She asks, doubting the Akatsuki woman before her.

"You have a formidable power within you. You can learn to harness this power, and become an unstoppable force. Although you will need our help to achieve this."

  
Akira hardened her eyes.  
Konan may be a sight for sore eyes, but what assumption is she going on for her to believe that's enough to convince her.

"What makes you think I want to help the Akatsuki?" Akira questioned unconvinced with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

  
Konan looked away in thought for a few moments.  
If you squinted hard enough you could see the hints of sorrow seen on her face.

"Amegakure has been the war-torn soil treaded on by many, but with your assistance not only can you stop any more instances of this happening and restoring peace, you can redeem yourself from your past deeds and be welcomed back into the village once again." She coerced, lifting her head and staring blankly at the infamous shinobi.

Akira's features relaxed. "What do you mean, this organizations purpose resulted from war?" She needed some sort of material to go on.

"War is a tool used by neighboring countries to keep their necks out of poverty.  
Amegakure has taken the worst of this plague by far. Our goal is to not _only_ retain order over the rain village, but to divide peace among all the nations as well."

That didn't sound so bad, but It was still unfair!  
Her former actions condemned her to a life of alienation and left her to pick up the pieces by herself.  
She murdered important figures from her own village, she knew that and she accepted her fate and picked up a blade in return.  
But what was unjust about the situation and _little_ fucked up, was the fact that she was being forced to work with a murderous gang of S-rank shinobi in return for her redemption in the eyes of the village.

"So this is the only way..." She stared at her open toed bopts, attempting to make a decision.  
Her eyebrows knitted together and a frown tugged at her lips once realizing this wasn't something she expected really. By 'summon' she didn't expect Itachi meant join!  
Maybe he didn't know either.. But what would Kurou think of her right now?  
She couldn't see him being proud of her decision if she agreed to it but her true motive was to bring him back, and be welcomed into Amegakure together once they were through with her.  
'Suppose it's the only way to make it happen, Akira would just have to embrace their cause with open arms and along with the members of the organization.  
Well she didn't have to necessarily like them but at least tolerate.. And it's not like their reason is for a bad cause, I mean putting a stop to war in Amegakure and restoring order?  
She was a reasonable woma-

"Have you made up your mind?" Konan interrupted her train of thought, Akira's head snapping up in the process.

"I.. Know what it's like to be a victim of conflict and poverty...  
If what you say is true then I am ignorant to the Organizations philosophy, but I'm not afraid to assist you anyway I can understand the existing conditions that apply for me."

A determined look was in her eyes while saying this, and after a short stare down, her head bowed before her.

"Hai! I agree to join you and your organization. I believe it will take some time for me to  fully accept and understand our goal as Akatsuki, but you have my loyalty Konan-san. At least till you prove me otherwise.." She replied with slight enthusiasm.

Konan looked briefly amused at her acceptance.  
For someone having such a murky past she half expected a fight of some kind.  
She wasn't complaining though.

"I'm afraid you don't understand the Akatsuki's objective for peace completely, but any doubts will be quickly tossed aside once you speak with Leader-sama, I assure you."

She returned the gesture and bowed her head to Akira, showing her a mutual understanding of respect.

"We should take you to a fellow member of ours, so you can be healed properly first.  
Please follow me Hitomi-san." Akira blinked in surprise at the stranger knowing her name.

  
Then she realized _'Well duh how else would they track me down.'_

  
Konan spun on her heel, opening the chakra reinforced door before glancing behind her shoulder to make sure she was following suit. Thankfully she was..


	3. Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dream of the past that explained her reasoning, and a tortuous encounter with a notorious stitched Akatsuki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be fluff in the next chapter, I'm just polishing it right now so it's not so lame.
> 
> I like this chapter btw sorry me bein a dorky dork  
> (✿◠◡◠) *Killer B voice* Don't forget to leave a comment or kudos, ya fool! ☆(❁◡❁)☆

After finally trudging the long staircases, Akira was finally met with some sort of 'home' these Akatsuki made.  
It wasn't a traditional house you would usually see, you could say it was kind of like rooms were spread out in spacious hallways and, some weren't even on the same floor.  
Though it was seemingly a good thing for Akira because the anxiety was very real.  
She could appear calm and collected if she wanted, but the situation was becoming stressful.  
It's not like she's never had friends before, or started a conversation up with a stranger, it was her burnt nerves that were exhausted, along with her physical form, making her weary and a bit on edge, a strange combination.

After a short walk despite the big ass staircase, Konan eventually halted in front of one of the numerous doors down the hallway.

"This is where you will be staying."

Konan opened the door turning on the light, revealing another dull room that was hardly furnished.  
It contained an old bed, washroom, lamp and a wooden dresser collecting dust. Nothing special.  
The only thing that seemed to catch her eye was the small oval shaped window residing in the farest wall of the spacious room.

"We're still in Amegakure?"  
The young woman asked, making her way into the bedroom to ogle the view.

Konan made a low hum of affirmation while studying the shinobi that was pressing one of her uninjured hands on the glass in a child like manner.  
It was still dark outside, and she wouldn't have known that she was so high up! From this view she could still observe the festival coming to an end for the night.  
It had to be late.

"Wow! This is where I stay?"

"Unless you're told otherwise."

Akira was pleased with the view. She had always been the one to admire beauty and loved to be surrounded with it.  
Be it people, like the beautiful stranger she had just met, to incredible scenery.

Turning around she snapped her dirty cloak off and laid it on top of the dresser, along with her Kasa and katana.  
Her black ninja fatigues were a bit tattered and worn but she couldn't wait to take a shower and sleep!  
As if reading her mind Konan motioned for her to follow her out the door.  
The pastel haired woman raised her arm to point a few doors down. "He can help you with your pain, then you should rest up."  
Konan turned around taking a step to leave.

"W-what! You're just gonna leave me alone!?"  
The shinobi was actually nervous to be by herself, I mean she didn't really know where she was besides her own room.  
On top of that she had no idea who any of these people were besides her seniors in the group.

"Tomorrow I will seek you out." With that disregard of Akira's confusion, she left.

"Oh Kami, okay..." She hesitantly headed for the door. There seemed to be a light coming from under it, so he had to be awake.  
She exhaled a breathe before feigning a cheesy smile.

* _tap_ *  
* _tap_ *  
* _tap_ *

She knocked quietly in case anybody resided in the previous doors beside her.  
She waited a moment not hearing any movement beyond the door.  
'Maybe he didn't hear me' She thought, bringing her knuckle up to knock a little harder.

* _Thump_ *

* _Thump_ *

* _Thu_ -*

The door opened a few inches only to reveal strange emerald eyes giving a cold glare.

"Howdy neighb-!"

* _SLAM_ *

What a nice guy!

Her smile dropped, giving the door a few knocks again. "Um, excuse me, I was told you could help me!"

Nothing.  
Is this really what she gets for trying to be friendly!  
She huffed crossing her arms in frustration. "Oi, open the hell up!"

The door opened once again exposing a very tall, upset man gripping the hem of the doorway.  
"What do you want?"  
His words were more of a demand than a question, also noting his voice was deep and filled with malice, mirroring his eyes.  
Those seemed to be the only thing exposed on his face for the masked man anyway.

 

"U-uh.."  
Feeling a bit intimidated by the towering male, her previous words to escape her.  
Instinctively she brought her arm up to his view, showing off the snapped index and middle finger, swollen in irritation on her left hand.  
His eyes examined the deformity before giving her a once over.

A sigh escaped his covered lips, leaning against the door to make room for her to walk under his arm.  
Apparently you had to be a pretty straightforward character to get through these people.  
Letting out a nervous laugh she slightly ducked her head moving past him in hesitation.  
Akira wasn't about to give up a painless nights sleep just because some jackass refused to let her in..

As if ignoring his judgmental glare that burned the back of her head, she noticed the room was more furnished than the one she was staying in.  
It was actually quite nice looking as if he spent his time picking only a few lavish items for his accommodation.

The small click of the door closing from behind interrupted her eyeing the room.

"Sit down." He said passing her, making his way to a large chest at the west side of the room  
After shifting on her feet uncomfortably and looking around the room again, she was unable to find a chair until her eyes settled on the man's back as he dug through a drawer for something.  
Even without the heavy cloak the Akatsuki wore he still appeared rather threatening.  
She was a fan of his tan complexion actually.  
It was something you would rarely see but the entirety of it looked riddled in black as though it were embedded into his skin..

He turned around rolling his eyes in the process, seeing her not heeding his demand.  
With a small box in grasp he pushed the palm of his hand to her shoulder.

"I said,"

Her dumbfounded face stared up at him as her legs stumbled backwards and hit the back of the bed, forcing her to sit on the white comforter.

"Sit."

He commanded sternly.

"Err...sorry." She mumbled awkwardly with a sheepish smile.  
He sat the plastic box on the end table next to her before grabbing her forearm, easing it up to examine her fingers at his level closely.  
He made a low 'hm' sound while putting his index and thumb where his chin would be.

"W-what? Can you fix it..?"

If his face was visible right now, she would of guessed he was frowning.  
He lowered her arm to his mid section and slid both of his larger hands down. One was tightly gripping her wrist, the other sliding up to wrap around her index finger while she flinched in pain.  
"So you're the new recruit."

* _GrrrACCKK_ *

Her face scrunched in agony as she lifted her available forearm to muffle her cries. "You could of at least warned me!"  
She exclaimed through labored breathing.

"You're missing the point."

* _SNAP_ *

"AHHH!! F-ffuckk..."

Her words seethed through barred teeth. Even though the pain was excruciating she was happy to believe that it was atleast over...  
She cradled her escaped arm caressing her hand in disbelief. "I-I guess I am.. My name is A-Akira Hitomi!"

"Hmph, another mouth to feed." He replied, voicing his thoughts of disdain.

She stared him down, a condescending smile on her face despite her pain.  
"Well, aren't you a sweet one! Oh, please stop with the compliments you're embarrassing me!"  
She feigned being flustered despite her suffering, all the while bringing a hand to cover her mouth, playing into her role.  
"Is that a joke?" He grumbled glaring at her.

"I like to think I'm funny." She replied winking at him.  
He disregarded her attempt to get under his skin.  
"What else?" Implying if she had any more wounds for him to fix.  
She gave up the act and gestured down to her thigh that lay lax in front of him.  
The bandaged thigh's laceration spread past the hole in her fatigues from splitting it even farther.  
"Are you wearing something underneath?"  
The question caught her off guard. She nodded slowly in response wondering his motive.

He grabbed a fist full of her tapered pants from each thigh and roughly pulled her pants down without second thought.

"Gah! W-what are you doing!?" Her faced flushed with much alarm and embarrassment.  
"I can't see the rest of the wound with your pants in the way." He replied.  
She swore he only did it to piss her off and embarrass her, making this guy tick her off even more..  
We're the rest of them this malevolent?  
She could see the smug look in his eyes as he smacked her hands away from shielding herself.  
"Ya awful jack-ass..." She mumbled quietly.  
He didn't seem to notice or care for her remark though. A pair of black spandex shorts took place as underwear, thank god.  
But anybody 'pantsing' you was going to humiliate no matter what.  
He squatted down closer to her leg, grabbing and pulling on it in the process to bring her thigh from relaxing on the bed.  
After pulling off the faulty bandaging he hovered his wrist over the cut, only for a long string of thread to come to life and impale her skin.  
"Ah! What the hell?" She was astonished by this unusual power.  
Was he made of frickety frackin' thread? God who knew anymore?    
Through her dramatic internal protest and cringing the air in the room grew heavy from the silence.  
She was on edge around the stranger but he didn't appear bothered at all, though she could tell he didn't enjoy spending his time taking care of someone he had hardly any affiliation with.  
Akira decided to break the silence "So I'm guessing you're Kakuzu, right?"

No reply.  
His eyes seemed fixated on her thigh, completely blowing her off.  
Ugh.  
A smug grin twisted to her cheeks. "You know.. for not looking your age you're just as senile as an old man."  
'HAHAH-'  
"OW!" His thread tugged sharply pulling roughly on the creamy swollen skin deliberately.

For someone who appeared as though they didn't care, he seemed to have his ego hurt easily.  
She scowled in response of the rude assault, realizing this probably wasn't the best situation to tease someone even if they were a jackass...  
Finally the strange thread did quick work of stitching her up as it recoiled back into his skin like a snake.  
He grabbed her thigh lifting it up each time he wound the bandage he retrieved from the box to cover the work he put in.

As soon as he backed off to put away the remnants she immediately pulled up her pants up, still flustered from the uncalled move.  
She didn't know if she should thank him or make him apologize for his rudeness.  
It seemed to late to start off on the wrong foot though..  
"Thanks..." She grumbled, lowering her head and rubbing her wrist sheepishly as she stood up.  
He gave her a dismissive wave and returned to her side.  
She gazed up at the stitched man in wonder, half expecting him to throw her ass out, but he did no such thing, instead seizing her hand and instead wrapping his fingers around her sore ones as a green aura enclosed around it.

The warm sensation was pleasantly bringing back the feeling to the numb fingers while she watched attentively.  
He concentrated on expelling his chakra through his palms, ignoring her prying eyes that sweeped over his features in a dumbfounded manner.

"You know medical ninjutsu?"  
That just so happened to be something she never bothered learning despite its conveniency.

"If your partner is idiotic as he is reckless then it can be a virtue to have."  
She giggled slightly at his pessimistic remark. So this really was the 'greedy' Kakuzu, huh?  
Besides his terrible first impression, she had yet to see his true ugliness, though he wasn't too terrible, the stitched man just found a way to get under her skin  
(ba dum tss), which only few could do.  
But when she thought about it, Kisame seemed pretty relentless with trying to crack her cool demeanor too, even though he was the only one she liked so far, and he was actually quite humorous, despite being a bit blood thirsty and brash.  
With the others.. Konan was fuckin' perf, hands down.  
And Itachi scared THE royal fuck out of her, and he knew that. But he was still enigmatic to her..  
It didn't really matter what her opinion was anyway...  
But these people really had some notable character traits you couldn't help but comment about...

"It should heal faster than expected now. I wouldn't recommend pulling any more ignorant stunts for the mean time though. If you can contain yourself that is." He ordered passive aggressively, releasing her hand.  
He just had to make it worse didn't he? She was about done with his shit anyway.

She could tell he wasn't exactly pleased with being bothered with so late at night..  
It wasn't as though he hated her, it was because he usually was easily annoyed.  
People could be so troublesome and not to mention so needy, and he definitely wasn't the type to bother with these type of situations but, he had no idea she just so happened to be a patient person.  
Although that didn't mean she was gonna let him jump her shit whenever he felt like it.

She dubiously bowed her head in gratitude as he opened the door for her to leave.  
"Stay out of trouble." He grumbled before closing the door behind her.

The whole experience just made her even more nervous about meeting the rest of the group.  
And she feared that wasn't going to be the last time she was going to encounter him..  
Sauntering back to her dorm and into the washroom, she itched off her clothes and waited idly for the tub to fill.

 

 

yo ̿̿’̿’\̵͇̿̿\=(•̪●)=/̵͇̿̿/’̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿̿̿’̿﹋﹋☼﹋﹋☼﹋﹋﹋(⊙︿⊙✿)﹋﹋﹋☼﹋﹋☼̿﹋﹋ ̿̿’̿’\̵͇̿̿\=(•̪●)=/̵͇̿̿/’̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿̿̿’̿ yo yo

 

 

Pulling the under-sheets off the bed for sanitary reasons, she stretched the dark wool blanket around her underwear clad form and coaxed her body to relax.  
She lay still in the comfortable blanket, enjoying it's softness.  
Its smell was foreign though, suppose she had to get use it but despite this the sensation of falling rushed to her senses, causing her breathing to shallow and heart rate to lower, quelling her into a undisturbed slumber.

(Dream)

Akira's back lay planted on the wall, nimble fingers gripping with anticipation onto the holster of her kunai.  
'We as humans are tempted into darkness, to abandon our moral compass and to commit the ultimate crime even at the expense of others.'  
The convicting voice of Kurou's rang through Akira's head as she attentively watched the innocent pre-teen trail though crowds of people that filled Konoha's streets.  
The indoctrination of the plan she recited earlier spurred her on to continue the taboo, even if it meant murdering the virtuous child in cold blood.

If she did what she was ordered then the chain of events would come crashing down upon her like a tower of cards.. With this concept in mind the male target came dangerously close to the shadows where Akira lay residing.  
She watched from her shaded rooftop as the insect pulled on the spiders web, indicating it was caught within the predators hold unbeknownst of its demise.  
This was it.

Akira commanded her feet to fling herself upwards off the roof, taking her kunai out in the process of the descent.  
The smack of winters wind brushed against Akira's flushed cheeks as she landed behind the adolescent with grace.

"Move and you'll be seeing red." She hissed into the child's ear.  
The young boy didn't even have time to react when the sharp steel glinting under the moons rays pressed gingerly to the nape of his neck.

The black widow's venom threatened his life menacingly, frightening him into submission.  
The silence was a contract both of them understood. His cooperation for his life.  
With this appreciated thought she forcefully pulled the destined boy into the shadows with her before a scene could take place.

'Our duty as true shinobi is stop this cycle, but for us to do so, we must carry out his doctrine as we would our own.'  
She extended her fingers outwards flattening her hand before slamming it down on the whimpering boy's temple, knocking him unconscious, convincing the relentless thoughts to quiet down with the force of her actions.

"He doesn't deserve this..."  
She murmured to herself while his body caved into hers as she slid down the wall, curling him into her form.  
In some way she was reminding herself for the reason why Kurou, and Tenma believed this was the only way.  
One of Hanzō's notorious right hand men decided that this was the perfect vessel to house as a jinchūriki.  
She knew how power hungry the hidden rain's officials would be if they were allowed to have this surreal monster under their thumb.  
She wasn't going to let that happen, atleast not while she was alive.  
Tenma had better been right about this.  
Kurou and him relentlessly preached about how this would save masses of innocent people from Hanzō's wrath.  
No doubt that it was true, but the mission itself was dangerous, putting each of their lives at stake.  
But most especially Kurou's, since he was the mastermind of this operation.  
She feared for his life than she did hers.  
While the fear was still very real, she allowed her arms to slip around the young boys limp body while she performed the necessary hand seals.

* _Poof_ *

Within a blink of an eye she appeared before a fellow Hidden rain Shinobi, with the boy draped over her shoulder.  
Akira slapped a gloved hand over the back of the child, solidifying his capture.  
Tenma's face lit up at the sight, happy their tracking paid off.

"Thank Kami. We need to hurry if we plan to make it 'out of the hidden leaf with out anybody noticing he's gone."  
Tenma hurriedly whispered, eyeing his surroundings for any prying eyes.  
His dark brown eyes settled upon Akira's uncertain gaze while a look of guilt painted her features.  
Frowning at the sight, undoubtedly knowing what she was thinking about.

"Your fate has already been determined. There's no room for you to back out now."  
Her gaze cast downwards, fighting against the warring struggle of fear and doubt.  
Even with the somewhat reassuring words, he could still see the internal battle she jarred with, written all over her face.  
He had to make sure this went according to his plan. Some how his deceptive nature was convincing enough to rest a hand on her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze without her doubting his true intentions.  
"I believe in you, Akira-chan."  
He gave an attractive and confident smile.  
With each passing second of the comforting words slowly sinking in, her unassured expression changed to one of determination.

"Hai! Arigato Tenma-kun!"

The surrounding darkness of night fall allowed the two Amegakure shinobi to escape Konoha's territory without a scuffle.

Akira's feet made contact with the snow ridden grounds of Konoha's hidden outskirts.  
Two affiliated ninja wait outside of the cave entrance, eager for the human vessels arrival.  
"He's out cold, I don't think we have anything to worry about."  
Akira said, gently passing the child to Kurou's embrace.

He gave a nod in acknowledgment, turning to trek inside the rocky enclosures mouth.  
Tenma's hand flew outwards to grasp an unnamed shinobi's shoulder, interrupting his advances towards the lair.

"We have a change of orders from Hanzō-sama."  
Tenma quietly stated behind the ninja.  
The younger subordinate looked back at him with confused doe eyes, his naiveté clearly evident.  
Tenma's eyes flickered to Akira's with a slight nod in her direction indicating her to speak up.

"We've been informed the Bijū's chakra is too strong for the sealing scroll."  
Akira falsely reported to the unwise shinobi.  
He stared at her foolishly.  
"R-really? Then what are we suppose to use instead? I didn't really prepare for something like this to h-happen!"  
He skittishly admitted.  
Akira's hands dove under her grey flak jacket pulling out a large rolled up scroll.  
"No worries, our research team sent a formidable seal for us to use instead. Here."  
She stuffed the tampered scroll into the young mans dumbfounded face, gesturing for him to take it.  
"Oh! Phew!"  
He chuckled nervously reaching his hand out to grab it.

"And how come we haven't received these orders ourselves?"  
A male voice barked in skepticism, causing the naive subordinate to recoil at his tone.  
Akira gritted her teeth in frustration turning towards her squad captain with a cold stare.  
'Change as often as the situation does. You'll have to mask your true intentions to convince another of a false goal. That is the true art of deception.'  
Her jaw relaxed from the repetition of the prior speech.  
The thoughts were her only blue prints at the moment.

"I'm afraid these were last minute changes, Taichō. I wouldn't advise refusing Hanzō's command unless you plan on demotion."  
Her eyes hardened as he dubiously searched her features for any trace of a lie.  
A brief silence was cast between the two as she forced her heart rate to calm, and relaxed her brow. Feigning a truthful demeanor.

"What makes you so sure their Hanzō's orders?"  
He questioned with a form of malice lacing his tone.  
Despite Akira's trained calm facade, her mind was racing with thoughts of exposure.  
She hadn't prepared for this part entirely.  
If it came down to it she would switch out the scrolls as a resort.

Her eyes darted to Tenma as he smoothed out an opened parchment handing it to the older captain.  
He ogled it with skepticism before hesitantly taking it.  
As his eyes scanned over the forged writing, Akira passed a look of gratitude to the brunette.  
"Akira and I received this along with the seal from Amegakure carrier pigeon."  
Tenma stated with confidence, giving a reassuring nod as the Taichō finished reading.  
"I suppose I should apologize for doubting you two. You have to understand that it's my responsibility to ensure this mission runs smoothly."  
The captain sheepishly replied stuffing the parchment somewhere into his flak jacket.  
"Of course, Taichō." Akira guaranteed.

 

The dark belly of the cave lit up with a flash of light igniting on a piece of wood in a far away corner of the room, giving enough illumination for Kurou to set the nameless child on the cold floor.

Akira watched as Tenma handed the scroll she gave him to his accomplice, before giving it a swift jut causing it to roll out its contaminants.  
She sat across from the two, with the remaining shinobi sitting on each side of her.  
Coaxing her breathe to remain constant, and forced her hands to stop shaking.  
Any minute now...  
Each ninja with a quick bow of heads rested their hands upon the intricate piece of paper, expelling chakra from their fingertips into the seal.

This particular jutsu required a large amount of chakra in order for it to work correctly and if they focused enough chakra, there might be a chance for the conspirators to pull it off.  
Akira barred her teeth in anticipation, waiting for the signal to perform the hand seals.

"Kenta!"  
Kurou called out the young naive shinobi's name, indicating him to execute the written seals on the paper before him.

He swiftly brought his hands up.

* _Snake_ *

* _Ram_ *

* _Bird_ *

His fingers held their pose.

"Akira!"  
Her hands trembled slightly as they rose upwards while her nerves ignited in electrical sparks.

* ** _TIGER_** *

* ** _DOG_** *

* ** _OX_** *

Sweat dripped down from her brow, slapping onto the meticulous form her fingers held despite the cold weather.

"Taichō!"

The captain furrowed his brow as his eyes scanned over the paper.

* ** _Dragon_** *

* ** _Horse_** *

* ** _Boar_** *

Compressed chakra boiled upwards in a blue hue, as each hand sign followed suit.

"Tenma!"

* _ **Monkey**_ *

* _ **Hare**_ *

* _ **Rat**_ *

Tenma gave a nod in affirmation while his hands clasped together in position.

"Yosh!"  
Kurou yelled as he readied his nerves for one final blow.  
Akira could tell he was anxious from bead of sweat that rolled down his temple in suspense before the chakra flowed towards the child and him.

 

* _BIRD_ *

She watched the top card fall.

* _ **HARE**_ *

The pillared cards caved from the middle.

* _ **DRAGON**_ *

The house of cards fell helplessly upon her, scattering to floor in demise as they pooled around her feet.

 

"Ah!"  
Her stomach exhaled in a fury, her lungs attempted to endorse a hyperactive state that disturbed her sleep, eventually waking her up in a pool of sweat after hearing a loud knock at her door.  
Even though it was dream, she was still having a hard time separating the prior reality from the current moment.  
Despite her dazed mental state, she was wide awake --  
more than she has ever been actually with the memory still fresh in her brain as she laid on the mattress unmoving.

* _tap-tap-tap_ *

Another knock came to the hard wood separating her from whoever was at the door.  
Akira tore herself from her absentmindedness and hollered out for the visitor to wait patiently so she could smooth out her hair and throw on a shirt.

Opening the door with an audible sigh she expected to see the lovely woman deemed Konan, but was greeted with a different familiar face instead.


	4. Senju Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira finally meets this 'Leader'! But she's still unsure how she feels about him, but that's not her only worry. In the same day, she gets assigned a partner!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could only post half of this chapter because ao3 kept deleting it, so the continuation of it is in the next 'chapt'  
> So I guess I could say, the next chapter contains fluff..

"Finally decided to get your ass out of bed, huh?"  
She wasn't disappointed to see Kisame instead.  
Because believe it or not, Akira felt a little more affectionate towards the very large man than the others she had encountered - but with the prior 'nightmare' she couldn't help but feel somewhat emotionally drained.  
"Oh, it's you..." She deadpanned, leaving the door open while shuffling on her pants that laid on the floor.

"I had no idea you were this grouchy in the morning." He responded quickly, crossing his arms in annoyance.  
He knows very fuckin' well she could be roasting him with fish jokes if it wasn't for her state of mind right now.

 

' _You don't understand!'_

Her mind flashed the earlier images of the tragedy. The prior memories suffocating her once again, halting her movements with a glassy stare at the floor - her leg hanging in a single pants sleeve.  
He watched her form, suspicious of her 1000 mile stare, but she still didn't move.  
It was like ogling a statue.  
"Is something wrong..?" He asked with slight concern, confused about her bizarre behavior.

' _Where is my mind?'_

She wondered shaking her head slightly clearing the strew of thoughts.  
"What's the plan, Kisame-san?"  
She asked ignoring his earlier inquiry, changing the topic to whatever the Akatsuki had in store for her.  
Maybe she just didn't want to talk about it, suppose all he could do was shrug his shoulders with indifference at the disregard.  
"Apparently my orders are to escort you to Leader-sama."  
With the destination in mind, her hand hovered over the sheathed katana, contemplating if she'd need it or not.  
"A swordsman never leaves their weapon behind if they can help it." He said knowingly, answering her thoughts.  
Suppose he _was_ one of the owners of an outrageously powerful sword, notorious for its name to add.  
"Since when did you decide to show me the ropes?" She asked curiously, pulling on the blade's strap and slinging her cloak and Kasa over her shoulder before finally meeting him by the door.  
"If I wasn't here to show you 'em, you'd probably tuck tail and run again."

"I-I wasn't wimping out!"  
Akira realized her poor attempt at defending herself was in vain upon noticing the smug grin on his face.  
"Heh, you really expect me to believe you weren't even the slightest scared of being interrogated by a bunch of criminals?"  
He had a point.  
She wasn't expecting him to understand why she ran or who she was running after but, she didn't quite understand why she did either.  
She still hadn't thought about the unbelievable incident, not wanting to ponder it in fear of actually believing it was true.  
Perhaps she could just blame it on it on a state of disbelief, but she would just do about anything to forget it all together..  
"Let's just go." She said dropping the topic, ascending up the stairs with the large male guiding her way.  
"Whatever you say..."

After a short trudge, the two come to a large set of doors.  
If she could of guessed, she was probably near the top floor of the seeming secluded 'tower' due to the feeling of her head swimming from elevation.  
"Well aren't you going to open it?" Akira asked gesturing towards the double doors that he stared at with anticipation.  
He shook his head 'no' before turning towards her and bowing his head slightly to something behind her.  
"Eh? What's that for..?" She questioned turning around only for her eyes to make contact with amber, causing her to flinch in surprise.  
How long had she been standing there?  
"Thank you. You're dismissed." Konan dead panned, her eyes darting to the aquatic man then back to Akira.  
He hesitantlay did as he was told and left, as if he was uncomfortable with taking orders but eventually leaving the two women alone together.

"I should warn you to keep an open mind before we enter." Konan ominously stated.  
The kunoichi snorted lightly in response.

"What? Am I to expect some kind of quack?"

"All I'm saying is that it's harder to understand the truth than to deny it."

Perhaps she was right, but she had yet to hear what this Pein wanted with her and why.  
Akira never planned on refusing whatever he had to offer in the first place, she hadn't the intention to atleast, even if he did turn out to be a quack, because being reminded of her reason why last night convinced her enough to do whatever it took.

With this in mind she strutted in determination as Konan pushed through the doors before shutting it behind both of them.  
The room was stark and dim, and had a large opening showing off the beautiful city of Amegakure, shrouded in dark clouds that covered the metropolis in rain.

Leaning near the said archway of the window stood a figure with a distinguished hair color, his head lowered with his feet were crossed in a casual manner.

"The infamous murderer of Amegakure's three officials I presume." His deep voice lulled with intrigue.  
She wasn't surprised he knew who she was.  
Her past crimes were notorious and was the reason why she was a missing nin.  
"It's an honor to meet the lone insurgent. I admire your dedication to your marathon of disappearance, but yet.. here you are."  
It sounded like he had an underlying tone whenever he spoke, like he was about to tell her what the catch was but he hadn't even made a deal yet.  
Nevertheless it made her on edge.

"I suppose it's a rather complicated title to have, isn't it?" Akira mused, disliking the header of hers, but she had to admit it was befitting for a killer.

He made a sound of acknowledgment before speaking again.  
"With my help you can have this burden lifted from your shoulders, but you have something I want."  
Ahh there it was, the catch.

"And what's that?"

"Your obedience."  
It sounded like an easy request but you can't just give out respect and utter devotion on cue! But if she could guess, it wasn't that simple.

"Something's telling me that isn't the end of it." Though he hid it well he was amused with her disregard of the request of allegiance.

 

"It's not even the beginning of what use you could be for me and the greater good of the world. I will enlighten you with veracity."

 

This kind of talk about 'greater good' made her quirk an eyebrow.  
She was just one person, she doubted his mentality with this statement but that didn't mean she wasn't curious as to why she would be of use to anyone.  
Don't get me wrong it's not like she doubted herself. She had great power and knew it, but you can't help but want to be rational in these decisions to predict the worlds future.

"As Akatsuki we advocate peace, but our reasons as to why are all varied.  
This world refuses to end its cycle of chaos and war, and with your... abilities that not only derive from your Senju descent we can attain the right to disrupt the cycle with enough influential power."

As though ignoring most of his speech, her brain focused in on the word that only mattered to her, causing a small gasp to escape her lips immediately.  
"How did you know I'm Senju?" She hastily questioned.

"The reason you're alive today as a Senju is because of your fate to help the Akatsuki. The former demons of your past have molded you in this conquest." He explained crossing his arms and head still downcast.

"Wha... what makes you believe that's true?" She asked eyebrows furrowing in uncertainty.

He raised his head opening his eyes to bore into her own.  
The unbelievable sight took Akira's breath away allowing the pitter patter of the rain to chime through out the room amongst the stunned silence.

"T-the Rinnegan! How..?"  
He had her full attention now.

"Because I can see it... You're going to be vital, only if you allow yourself to be." He coaxed her into submission.  
She was stunned by his display of Dōjutsu. Was this possible?  
Did this man actually possess the eyes of the Rikoudo Sennin?

"Earn your redemption and assist in bestowing true peace to the chaos.."

With his power similar to a gods (she suspected) she was undoubtedly going to heed his words.  
Why defy a power that hasn't given her a reason to? She wanted Kurou back, but she also wanted absolution.  
Perhaps there was a way to get him back too.  
I mean she didn't even know if what happened to her the day before was reality or a nightmare.  
Either way she had loosely accepted he was gone from her life, even though the past ordeal is making her doubt just that but, if war and treachery took him from her, and she was being presented with the option to stop any future similarities of this happening to anybody else, she will gladly accept this opportunity.

"I apologize for my prior uncertainty but how do you plan on stopping something like this..?"  
She still couldn't fuckin' believe she was being allowed to stand in front of someone with the Rinnegan.

"With the control and capture of the tailed beasts." He finally admitted the true goal of his plan.

"Is that even possible?" She was still in disbelief.

"First we must obtain enough wealth to keep to the pillars of support intact.  
If we continue to provide our services under a competitive rate as a mercenary group,  
we can offset costs."

"Why would you want to do that?" Akira interrupted not understanding where the hell this was going.  
It sounded like a cheap con artist scheme, perhaps more elaborate but still sort of petty, either way she was all ears.  
"Heed my words. If we are successful we can make neighboring countries and more increasingly dependent on our trade, and eventually close down mark up on shinobi villages. Finally with capturing and systematically deploying the tailed beasts, we could quickly start and quell wars." Pein explained with little passion.

"I think I understand. With the ability to start wars, we will also have the ability to end them."  
She caught on quick.

"This is our philosophy. It is inevitable."  
Shes been war-torn, hurt, and faithless and he promised her so many things, and all he asked in return was her faith.  
Call her crazy but Akira was actually slightly agreeing with his ideals.

And with that inspiration she flipped on a dime. (Basically new phone who dis?)  
She bent down to one knee, bowing her head in deep respect for the powerful shinobi.

"How can I assist, Pein-sama?"

A smile rose to Konan's lips from behind her. To see the one she loved being esteemed gave her some sort of gratification before she wiped it off her face.

"You have been graced with a power that no other has. Show me."  
She didn't know which one he meant, but maybe not the one where she'd probably blow up the building.  
She stood, bringing her hands together to form a few seals before bringing her right hand a rulers distance away from her abdomen.

A white light pulsated from her palm as she held it up, with its blinding radiance only emanated a few inches inside her hand, and flickered similar to a strobe light.

"I can blind or extract a memory with this jutsu. The only draw back is I can't replace the memory to its original place."  
She curled her fingers into her palm before lowering her arm.

He was definitely pleased to see that she really did happen to have this power, uncaring for its risks.  
"I'm under the impression that you have yet to control all the immense chakra that resides with you."

"Ah, yes, I'm afraid so." She admitted sheepishly.

"Then I will put you under an Akatsuki with similar prowess."

"Hm? Like a partner?"

"Yes, in a way. I'm assigning you with someone who reports to me quite often.  
He can also help you with your chakra control. I believe the two of you will work rather well with each other due to some of your abilities relating to Intel and espionage."  
The orange haired man said.

"So how long do I have to wait to meet this senior member of mine?" Akira asked propping her hands on her hips.

" **You won't have to**."  
A deep raspy male voice said below her causing her to spin on her heel only to peer down and see a strange looking male, somehow rising up from the floor as if he was merged with it.  
Akira gasped in surprise while backing up but only to find her feet betraying her, causing her to fall flat on her butt.

"Hehe, you didn't have to scare her." A softer higher pitched voice lulled.  
She had no fucking clue what was going on until she realized the man that stood towering over her was wearing an Akatsuki cloak.  
" **Don't blame me, I didn't know she was such a coward**."

She scrambled to her feet, taking in the sight before her.  
He was clearly male, but what made her question whatever the hell he is, was the fact that his skin had two different colors split straight down the middle.  
Upon noticing this, the white side actually had some distinguished facial features.  
While the black hardly had any.  
The plant like protrusion that seemed to encompass him could give anybody an uneasy feeling, but he probably wasn't the strangest thing she's seen.  
But what was he exactly?

As if rudely voicing her thoughts unintentionally she couldn't help but say, "W-who in the hell are you?"

The plant like man seemed a bit offended by her words. Well atleast the white side of him did. Apparently the other part didn't appear to be able to make expressions from what she could tell..

"Well that isn't a very nice way to greet someone. **We're your partners, brat.** "

'We?'  
That didn't particularly explain why two different voices were coming from him.

"Zetsu will help carry out your missions with you." Pein said, addressing the male she eyed while standing to her feet, seemingly embarrassed by her show of shock.

Pein continued, "For now I have an assignment that will test your bravery and skill."  
Akira was finding it difficult to focus on her leaders orders while her unusual partner discreetly ogled her.  
A hint of disdain could be seen on his face from her peripheral.  
Nevertheless she shrugged it off and eyed Pein as if to continue his orders.

"You are to seize the Akatsuki ring a former member has stolen from us and kill him if you deem it necessary."  
He finally recited.  
She could see Zetsu giving somewhat of a knowing frown from out of the corner of her eye, figuring he probably knew who the former Akatsuki was.

She's been trained to take on any task, whether it a D-rank mission to S-rank.  
To be a skilled shinobi meant that you had to have a variety of work under your belt.  
Villages would assign you to the innocent 'cat stuck in a tree' to taking down a mole in your operative unit.  
Despite her being young of age when she was a shinobi of the hidden rain under Hanzō's authority, she took on numerous terrifying missions and came back unscathed half of the time. She could thank Kurou for that.  
Though now she is older, somewhere in her twenties and without Kurou, an assignment felt so new to her. Sort of like a blast from the past.  
Could the task prove to be more difficult coming from an organization notorious for completing incredibly unfavorable missions? She figured so.

"Where is my target located?"

 **"I've gathered enough Intel to say the snake resides somewhere along Kusagakure's south coast line."**  
Zetsu's deep voice rasped.  
The waxen side of him made a face of displeasure at the news.  
"Don't tell me we're actually going after Orochimaru. He's so creepy~.." The whine accentuated the cute child like voice of his.  
She's heard the name Orochimaru before from an innkeepers tale of an unknown ninjas battle with him.  
But she had no idea the random landlord's folklore was of truth.  
From the story, assuming he would be in the land of sound rather than Kusagakure, she turned her head to face him ready to admit that she knew something oh so little about him.

"From what I've heard he's quite an unsettling character." She commented in agreement.

His brow furrowed in disgust at the thought.  
"I can't even say he's eccentric, he's a _freak_."  
Akira snorted in humor at his blunt remark.

"Either way, he isn't much of a menace to us anymore. To rid him of this world is ultimately your decision to make. Your primary goal is the ring. Do I make myself clear?"  
Pein asked with a hint of aggression probably displeased of getting off topic.

"Hai." Akira nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good...Konan."

He looked in the azure headed woman's direction.  
As if reading his mind, Konan walked from her overseeing corner and outstretched both her hands towards Akira, while she observed the offering of fabric in Konan's hands.

It was the Akatsuki cloak.

Her hands brushed over the smooth material before looking up at her superior for permission.  
The slight nod of his head gave her the consent to take the cloak into her hands before she bowed her head briefly to the beautiful woman holding it.  
The loud smack of her former grey shawl hitting the ground was satisfying, as she put on the patterned attire. Letting her katana's strap hug the outside of it.

She knew she looked good _._ As in _good_ she meant intimidating and powerful.  
It gave her some sort of reminder of being official as she partially unzipped the top, clearing a view of her satisfied face.

"Report back to me when you have succeeded in your mission."  
Pein ordered

"Hai!"  
To say Akira wasn't excited was a lie. It was like getting her first real mission as a village shinobi all over again.  
She struggled to contain her eagerness with a small smile.

 

like I said I had to end this chapt early, continue on the next page.


	5. Ginseng Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This contains fluff, I will write more character fluff in later chapts.  
> I also don't care to write any fluff chapters for other characters, be it related to the story or not at all.  
> I plan on doing that anyways but if you wanna speed me up to get to a certain character, tell me.  
> I mostly like underrated ones, but like I said I don't care.

After a brief departure with her partner, Konan happened to give her another set of traditional ninja fatigues and a beautiful short kimono to compensate for Akira's tattered clothes.

She wore the dark grey fatigues under the cloak, with the kimono folded and put away in a pocket somewhere underneath, leaving to adorn the traditional wear for another time.

Finally the pair was met with silence as the breeze shook the rustling of trees that lay sparse over Amegakure's borderline, with the sun falling below the horizon and the moon greeted the two who walked towards the The Village Hidden in Grass (sounds like my kind of village lmao

 

"I think we're near the border to the land of fire.. **so try not to get yourself killed**."  
She noticed that every time Zetsu piped up the dark side conjoined with him always had something negative to say.  
She didn't completely understand how he could have two separate personalities or people functioning as one, despite her puzzled mentality there was no denying that she would 'eaves drop' on their convos.  
Even if they would bicker at times in disagreement, making it seem as though she was in a party of three.  
It's not like it was annoying though, she found it quite amusing actually.  
It was probably due to her fascination with them coexisting.  
Hopefully it would come in handy during combat.

"I'm Akatsuki for a reason now. I don't plan on giving up that title anytime soon."  
She said trailing next to him on the hidden dirt path.

"Eh? You sound pretty content being around a bunch of criminals, **the kind that could end your life without a moments notice**."  
The last part sounded like a threat.  
I guess it was something she should of expected from the more cruel entity inside him.  
He looked at her, a strange intimidating smirk lazily curled his face.  
"Shouldn't you be scared~?"  
With this ominous question, she noticed his teeth were rounded unnaturally.  
If it wasn't for his seemingly sadistic disposition, she would of thought it was kind of cute, almost similar to a child's.  
Though she knew he was quite the opposite, and she had no idea what kind of devastation he could bestow upon her.  
With this in mind the menacing sneer unnerved her quite a lot causing her to decide to turn the tables a bit.

"I believe I can hold my own.. Senpai."  
She said slyly, a smirk of her own grew after witnessing the face he made at the honorific.  
He turned his head away from her, dropping his grin in the process while a embarrassing blush rose to his cheek.

"Don't s-say things like that!"  
The lilt of his voice rose at the end of his sentence, revealing his slightly flustered state.  
Did that actually bother him! How humorous! A high and mighty Akatsuki embarrassed from a lovely woman's feigned attempt to flatter him!  
That just only served to amuse her even more.  
She was surprised to find that she actually liked using her womanly charms, despite it being against her nature, but there was undoubtedly some twisted pleasure in having a grown man flustered from her girlish teasing, no matter how subtle it was..

 

She sped up to stand in front of him blocking his path, inverting her shoulders and fumbling with her feet in a cutesy way.  
This caused him to halt in his tracks eyeing her suspiciously, unconvinced she was done fooling around and awaiting another bothersome remark.

"Oh? But I kind of like it actually! It rather suits the circumstances doesn't it, Senpai?"  
She teased giving somewhat of a condescending smile.

This only caused him to fidget uncomfortably and flush with embarrassment while averting his yellow eyes.  
More than anything he wanted to hide away, or just quiet her with a witty retort, but the unexpected comments left him indecisive and unsure of what to say, causing him to shift uncomfortably on his feet for a brief moment.  
Her smirk widened upon noticing him backing away from her advancing form with fickleness.  
There no doubt she found his anxious state strangely endearing, but yet again it had been a long time since she really got to mess with someone innocently.  
O-ho-ho-ho she was gonna have fun with this.

 **"Don't make a habit of it or I'll kill you myself, you little brat."**  
She could hear the acid dripping off the deeper voices words, chilling her with the believable threat, while she watched the black on his side clench his fist in anger.

Oops.

This guy could be pretty intense... suppose he didn't plan on be 'taunted' anytime soon.  
Her shoulders slacked becoming unnerved from his 'Bitch, swerve', and eventually dropping the act all together while muttering a half assed apology and changing the subject.  
"U-uhh, let's just go find a place to rest for now hm?"  
She tensely asked  
He finally brought his gaze back to her, giving her a look of uncertainty, weary of any idea she had further planned.  
"I mean we'll be in hostile territory soon, we should take a break before we find it impossible."  
She reasoned noticing concerned expression.  
After sweeping his gaze across her features with disdain, he gave in and shrugged deeming her excuse acceptable..

 

Eventually Akira found her back propped against a tree, in the thick wooded grounds.  
A very small fire dimly lit the area and kept just enough warmth for Akira to not shiver in the October night.  
The saturated colors of the night contrasted beautifully against the dark night sky.  
Romanticizing the atmosphere, Akira sat on her Akatsuki cloak with her knees bent and her back being cradled by the roots of the tree, relishing in the warm flames that comforted her so.  
Suppose the years of being a pariah made this all too normal for her.

The silence was comfortable, but she could tell the cynical one was still brooding over the earlier teasing.

Relaxing in the crevice, Akira's fingers smoothed over the engraved kunai resting in her palm.

"I find it hard to believe someone like you were requested by the Akatsuki.."  
Zetsu's head snapped up at her comment, as he sat casually cross legged further away from the fire, uncomfortable with its qualities.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" He asked dubiously.  
She knew all to well he could be asking her that very same question.  
He was finding it hard to decipher her motive with such a blank expression.  
The question made him regret responding, fearing what unpredictable behavior she had in store next.

"Well I suppose you aren't the most approachable person they've come across."

She was right actually.  
Most of the odd characters the organization recruited or contemplated were nothing short of aloof, well maybe not Tobi.  
He was actually pretty friendly, despite his intricate story.   
Both Zetsu's counterparts never saw themselves as intimidating as people perceived them to be though.  
Suppose they couldn't find it insulting whenever somebody found them frightening either.  
I mean they weren't human! Not necessarily that is.

"You're wrong. We didn't wait for them to find us."

"Oh? I didn't think the Akatsuki were easy to track down." Akira mentioned.

"You know we're rather skilled in _espionage_ , right?" He sarcastically remarked.

"Hey I'm not ignorant! I'm just a little curious on how you got into this line of work. Is that so wrong?" Her defensive tone of voice of course irked him.

Why was she so interested in him?  
Perhaps he could see the reason, I mean she was his partner and maybe it wasn't a bad idea to know a few things about someone you planned on spending a lot of of time with.  
Whether he liked it or not he didn't see a lot of excuses for not answering her but in contradiction his Akatsuki ring literally meant 'mysterious'.  
And he wasn't use to someone wanting to pry about on his history.

"Didn't anybody tell you to mind your own business?"

He wasn't deliberately trying to be mean, it's just whenever he was uncomfortable he had a tendency to be a little rude.  
Though his darker equivalent had the independent attitude of 'If I may say, fuck you'.  
So you could see where the conflict would come in for the two.

"It wouldn't hurt for us to trust each other... I guess I shouldn't be the one to talk though. I don't particularly like it when someone snoops around my life either.."

She surrendered under silence as she solemnly ran her finger over the engraved last name on the blade.

He studied her expression while her gaze was downcast, noting the small details her thoughtful appearance held.  
What a cute little mole she had on her jaw line..  
Bickering thoughts of the two caused an internal conflict over the admiration of his partners beauty.  
Despite her lovely appearance, (which they didn't mind ogling) she was still unknown to them.  
And he couldn't help but wonder what truly made her agree to join this organization.

He was one of the members that had to do the digging to track her down from her years of reclusiveness.  
But knowing only small tidbits of information about her just made him more interested.  
It was like reading a few sentences from an article but not being able to finish it.  
The real intriguing question here is, what's her motive? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to express a bit of his idealist ways with her.  
In return he could probably get her to spill the beans.

"If you're asking what's our reason for joining, then I guess you could say we believe in the Akatsuki goal, but not what they're about. We suppose the intentions of the Akatsuki were good enough, but then again It can be really annoying when they get caught up in their own beliefs. I mean what is a group without adopting corresponding ideas of others to make it their own..? And then, what makes us any different from a standardized mercenary group?"  
His fingers twiddled with the grass under him while announcing his well thought out answer.

He may be a bit stubborn and a tad naive but his hesitant consideration could make her head snap up at his pensive reply, smiling softly in affection.  
It was somewhat fascinating speaking with two opposites, with different interests but held a common ground of belief.  
Like it was something the government aspired to be. (Lmao)  
Now that she thought about it perhaps it wouldn't hurt to be a bit thoughtful either.

"You think Pein's objective is selfish?" She asked curiously.

" **Were you even listening**?"  
Ahh there he is.

" I don't think I fully understand.." His negative accomplice could make her sheepishly admit anything under his heated glare.

"What I'm trying to say is you can only rely.. **on yourself**."

His top lip twitched upwards in annoyance at the intrusion.

"Hey, that's not what I meant!" He retorted in irritation.

 **"I highly doubt it. She can learn something from us if you pay attention, you half wit."**  
His pallid accomplice frowned in disagreement. Why did he always have to interrupt him!

"I suppose that could be true. It's not like I haven't been responsible of my own reliability before, but you are my senior and I'm eager to learn more from you."

It was the type of genuine confession that made his features soften.  
He honestly expected her to retaliate in offense, but was surprised to be met with humbleness.  
Once again she baffled him with an unanticipated line.

 **"I never planned on being your teacher."**  
His counterpart was clearly not as pleased with her as he was at the moment.

Though he could be somewhat of a jerk, she didn't seem to falter with his rude advances.  
"Well even if that's true, you only get one, and they're... irreplaceable..."  
With this mentioned, she couldn't help but feel a pang of loneliness wash over her.

"I figure it would be hard taking directions from somebody who can't even agree with each other, let alone share the same body." She said pushing  the familiar feelings away with a small chuckle and a tease.  
The feeling was so reoccurring it was some what of a ritual to mask it.  
Despite this, the lonesome emotion lingered.

"Can't agree..? I'd like to see _you_ try sharing a mind with him."  
White Zetsu was obviously a lot more touchy than the other, it was so childlike with his slight pout and glowering expression.  
With such adorable behavior she couldn't help let a small devious smirk contort her lips.

 

"Anyway, I'm guessing we're going to have to find this hideout of his, huh?"  
Akira's eyes flickered away from the fire to catch his gaze with inquiry, setting a trap that he had no knowledge of.

"Oi, I'm not looking forward to it either y'know. We usually have to carry out these types of missions by ourselves so I'm unsure of how long it'll take lugging _you_ along."  
The whine of his voice had a hint of disdain, still upset over her prior attempt to frenzy him.  
How cute.

"Hmph. You two are so similar sometimes... No wonder you're both together..."  
She murmured sounding as it was more to herself than him. Though the last part was to intentionally poke fun at him again.

"Hey I heard that! We're completely different people! **You really think I want to be attached to this idiot?** Ugh!"  
His white counterpart withdrew his head back in an offensive manner, about to retaliate with a comeback.

"Hey, alright! I was just playing around..."  
They're bickering definitely wouldn't have came to an end if he didn't look up to find her slowing crawling on all fours like a predator about to pounce.  
The mischievous glint in her eye and lively smirk only solidified this notion.  
His eyes grew wide while internally panicking in confusion at her proximity.

His frazzled expression caused her to dig her palms into the ground where the vacant spot between his crossed legs were with her face atleast elbows length away from his.

"W-what are you doing? **Get away from me**."  
His nerves racked together, I mean he could practically _smell_ her from this distance.  
The scent of sweet femininity filled his nose as his stomach coiled, the natural aroma reminding him of the morning coastline breeze, causing his heart to sway like the lethargic cold waters that crashed upon the shore.  
The fragrance was definitely original.

"What's under this thing hmm? What are you hiding?"  
She lulled disregarding his earlier protest while bringing a hand up to point towards the green contraption that surrounded his upper body.  
His blush deepened at her purring voice becoming more aware of Akira's extended fingers that began to grasp through the opening of it.  
The unexpected move would make anybody freak out, especially with white Zetsu's naiveté with these types of intimate situations.  
Of course he was going to panic if her unblemished hand stretched towards his stunned face.

The jaws of the plant like encasing snapped shut as she recoiled her hand back in the nick of time.

  
"What the hell?" She muttered.

  
The uncalled for motion caused her to sit up in surprise.

 _  
'Did it just.. move?'_ She thought

  
"Y-you almost got her with that. **Good**."

  
She pouted in frustration.

  
Why was he hiding from her?  
Well I mean she knew, but can't he take a little teasing?  
Maybe it was because of her strange sense humor driving her further or the empty pit the constant loneliest left her with, but this ordeal was bringing her back down to earth and was somehow satisfying.

Even though his reluctant behavior thwarted her to a small degree, there was a part of her that was actually enjoying his opposed counters.

"Oh I get it... You're shy. How adorable..." She tempted mischievously.

  
He quirked a brow underneath the enclosed shell at her tone.  
There was always a sense of competitiveness he got from being mocked that caused him to retaliate with, "I'm not shy!"  
He failed at defending his status, only to get a small chuckle from the minx before him.

"Prove it." Akira dared.

  
Oh did he hate being taunted!  
She was exploiting his naiveté and she was gaining some kind of power trip from it.

" **Just ignore her she'll go away**."

No way in hell this twisted woman planned on doing that anytime soon and his counterpart knew that.  
Despite the other's protests, the trap like structure merged somewhere into his abdomen disappearing beneath the black cloak he adorned.

With the barrier gone and the rosiness still tinting his cheek, a contradicting glare in his eyes held a more determined look to prove her wrong.

Despite her exploit to unnerve him, she was surprised to find him still stubborn in his ways, as though he had no idea how relentless she could be too.

Her left hand reached up once again to smooth her palm over his exposed collarbone, noting he was only wearing tapered shinobi trousers and sandals underneath, and brought her fingers just below his chin to lift it up, as she admired the flush of his skin.

He felt so vulnerable without some kind of shield he could hide away into from her touch.  
He wasn't use to dealing with persistent women, but it wasn't like he's never been around a female either.  
Why did she have to be so attractive but yet so bothersome at the same time?  
He'd like to think he could kill her, though he wasn't a front line fighter... Suppose she didn't have to know that.  
But he knew if he didn't want her touching him he would lay her flat on her back, and she would let him.  
But what was stopping him from doing so?  
Maybe it was the curiosity of having someone so close that he was sure she could hear his heart beating erratically in his chest.  
Or perhaps the soothing warm breathe that ghosted over his features leaving a tingling sensation in his gut.  
And just how her smooth skin caressed his own, plus with the pressure adding ever so little that made his skin set fire.  
He couldn't think of any other time that he has seen eyes that captured his in a taunting gaze, that pissed him off yet somehow made every nerve stand on edge, pleading for more.

Did she have no shame?  
This was gonna drive him crazy one day, he was sure of it.

"I'm not all that bad once you get to know me.." She purred in a kind voice, after seeing him visibly relax under her touch.  
Even though her tone sounded sweet and innocent, it was like she was begging him to challenge her in some way..

  
His tongue darting out to moisten his lips, but finding he and his darker counterpart too flustered to find their voices.  
Her back arched as she slid the pads of her fingers over his slightly parted lips, while leaning forward, and shifting her weight into the other hand holding her crouching form from falling on top of him.

  
She watched as the smooth texture beneath her index finger faintly writhed from her caress.

  
His brow furrowed in confusion as her hand began to brush over the black that split apart the two.  
He could see the fascination in her eyes, watching her go from toying with him to actually exploring him with curiosity.

"Cute..." She murmured vaguely aware of her endearing comment, while he could feel his blush spreading to his ears from the remark.

No one particularly found Zetsu handsome, or atleast nobody admitted to it.  
He couldn't really see himself with a significant other, male or female or whatever someone was, he just couldn't foresee romance in his future as sad as it may seem.  
Maybe it had to do with knowing he wasn't exactly human...  
It's not like he's incapable of attraction, suppose it was because he never had the opportunity to take a chance on it.  
So this was definitely a plot twist for an obviously charming woman to find an interest in him.

  
Let alone think he's ' _cute_ '.  
This surprised him immensely while flattering him in the process.

 

Conflicting shared thoughts between the two beings made his hand fidget with his pants, unsure how to respond with the embrace anymore.  
Akira shifted her balance on her knees bringing herself a little above eye level with him, causing him to tilt his head up slightly from the embrace of his face.  
Her free right hand encompassed the side of a white rosy cheek, lowering her head close enough for their lips to be inches apart.  
His eyes slightly glazed over in temptation and lower his lids half way with anticipation.  
The calm of the night fueled the suspense.

God did he want to kiss her.  
He knew he was getting quite caught up in the moment, but when was he going to get another chance like this?  
This disdain he felt earlier slowly evolved into a soft spot for her despite the earlier teasing.  
Of course he wouldn't admit that, but he couldn't help but develop a sense of affection for her at the moment.  
Did she have any clue how she was affecting him right now?

A part of him really wanted to touch her back in the same manner, but settled with ghosting his white palm under her forearm in tenderness while the enthralling woman's face descended downwards to his.  
His nose twitched when he rose his lips to meet hers halfway in eagerness.  
Closing his eyes while waiting for palatable impact.

 

Soft lips made contact with waxen skin just a few centimeters away from his own lips.  
Missing the target purposely.  
He exhaled a breathe he didn't know he was holding while she sensually kissed the cheek with affection before drawing herself back.  
His hypersensitivity caused goosebumps to raise from her tasteful kiss, no matter how insignificant it was.  
The bitter reality of it finally came crashing down on him with the damp skin a reminder of what could of been his.

He interrupted the incomplete motion by grabbing her wrist, stopping her from leaving his side.  
She scanned his eyes with hers, looking for any hints of anger.  
  
Finding none her features relaxed in realization, as she used her seized hand to push his shoulders back.  
He stared at her in confusion, unable to decipher her movement until she plants his back firmly on the ground as she gives a reassuring push to his collarbone to stay put.

Taking the hint his gaze promptly viewed the numerous stars that littered the night sky as they harmoniously strewed together in an luscious symphony.

"No one ever takes the time to view the few wonderments the world has to offer."

Her tone dazed and vague, as though she was still caught in a trance.  
There was no doubt that a part of him didn't want her to stop while he eyed her form curiously as it stretched out lazily on his left, and how tortuous it was watching her cherry lips turn downwards in a small frown, with her eyes fixated up to the night sky.

The switch of the situation caused him to exhale deeply through his nose, calming his erratic heart beat from the earlier intimacy.  
"I like to believe no matter how far away the stars seem, we still have a chance to reach them.."

Her melancholy tone gave him some idea to explain her prior hesitant behavior.  
The change of atmosphere calmed him down enough to rest a black arm behind his head, casually gazing upwards at the numerous orbs that littered the night sky.  
He never really took in the appeal of its beauty before but he could understand now why so many could become quite enamored with them.  
He knew it was probably the best decision to ignore the brief incident for the moment, or else he would find himself even more riled up about it.

That seemed to be what she had in mind too, as she continued in a soft spoken voice  
"And when there's chance, there's hope.. Some people believe hope only resides within someone's heart."  
The theoretical statement made Zetsu quirk an eyebrow at her unanticipated philosophy.  
" **What's your point?** "  
Black Zetsu grumbled with obvious disdain. Still clearly upset over her earlier toying, unlike his carefree associate.  
Even though his partners impatient attitude would annoy anybody, Akira's semi detached mental state allowed her to proceed unfazed.

"Well I like to think if hope lies within us then it must vary from person to person."  
The space between her eyebrows crinkled in thought.

"What do I have to hope for..?"  
She was mainly asking herself this question, as though it were something that perplexed her.  
Why did this simple question leave her feeling empty as she wracked her thoughts together trying to find the answer to it.

"The answer's probably something you don't have to think about. I guess it would be somewhat of an impulse in a way. I don't think it's something you'd have to spend time figuring out -- faith can hit you in an instant and I believe that's why we can be so stubborn to defend it. Because we never had to question it in the first place."  
White Zetsu commented, hoping to bring her out of her daze and answer her question.

That did make a lot of sense actually, despite his naive personality he was rather observant and intelligent enough to make a small smile grace her lips from his sincere answer.  
"You're probably right, Y'know..."  
She turned her head to look at the man that lay side by side with her.

"Thank you.. Senpai."  
This time he didn't seem to be bothered with the honorific. Perhaps because it sounded like she was genuinely appreciative.  
All he could do was study her out of the corner of his eye, taking in the gentle smile that expressed her fondness for him.

"You can count on me..."  
He murmured with a slight crooked grin, once again flashing his unusual teeth.  
She couldn't help but study his reaction from earlier - sure she felt a tad guilty putting him in a situation that undoubtedly made him uneasy, but the bitter emptiness she's been feeling lately spurred her on to believe she was nothing but a ghost of her former self.  
When she previously touched the softness of his skin it tore her from her self made limbo, that only physical contact could do the trick.  
It may have started out with playful banter, but the examination of his response grounded her in some way, fulfilling the need of recognition for herself.  
Feeling alone after losing everything left a void in her heart, hardly leaving any room for hope that she desperately craved.  
It felt so refreshing to have some kind of acknowledgment that it made her wrap a hand around his available pale forearm to retain the reminder.

In spite of Black Zetsu's rude behavior, he decided it there wasn't much he could do about the young woman that latched onto him that seemed to do so whenever the opportunity presented itself.  
After a brief moment of silence Akira's eyes watered with disregarded exhaustion as she found herself content with her answers for the night, allowing the plush grass to cradle her head she lulled herself into a dream ridden sleep.


	6. The First and Last Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira deals with a tormenting flashback/dream once again, explaining her past more and more.  
> As Akira and her partner travel towards Kusagakure in hopes to find Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring, they encounter trouble in the midst of the Leaf villages outskirts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good job if you actually took the time to get this far into the story.  
> A lil fluff once again.  
> There's a fight scene and I love writing them also you get to see some of Akira's Justus which is always good.  
> I write all of this on my iPad btw, my laptop is a lil bitch so I don't use it.

* ** _Poof_** *

Akira's legs burned as she forcefully flung herself from tree to tree, anxious to find Kurou successful.  
Her brows knit together, confused as to why Tenma vanished during the space time jutsu.  
This wasn't part of the plan, but the unexpected shock of the situation amongst the remaining dumbfounded shinobi, allowed her enough time to discreetly deploy smoke screen to impend her escape.  
Had the jutsu been in vain? The thought of it made her grimace in fear of what went wrong, dashing with more intensity towards her place of residence.

The house itself looked undisturbed from the outside, but upon sliding open the main shōji door, she noticed the room was flipped due to some kind of struggle.  
Fear ridden and anxious, she smoothed her way down the wall, clutching her kunai hastily, awaiting some sort of combat.  
Coming up to the shōji that blocked her view of the kitchen, she pressed her back more firmly against the wall.  
The situation becoming more and more intense from each room she checked, along with the grip on her kunai.  
Few of the rooms looked as though it were ransacked, leaving one room untouched from her search.  
The dread crept upon her while fear wrapped its black tendrils around her neck, only forcing a choked gasp to erupt from her throat when she slid the door open.  
Kurou's body lay sprawled upon the tatami mat, a short blade burrowed into his chest as his hands clutched it in desperation.  
His eyes were fixated on hers, obviously somewhat coherent of his surroundings.  
She would have rather had him not here at all than this, but either way he would of been dead regardless of the latter.  
"Kurou!"  
Her legs buckled under her after scampering her way towards him, gravities effect bringing her to her knees next to him.

He watched from half lidded eyes as she wrung her hands around the blade in a frenzy, tearing it from his chest and tossing it in a forgotten corner of the bedroom.  
The blood in her veins boiled with a rage she couldn't tame as her fists connected with his chest, eyes watering in frustration.  
"What have you done, Sensei!?"  
She angrily questioned him, her breath labored from the sudden stress.  
His lungs allowed a shallow breath to escape his blood covered lips, before replying in a soft spoken tone,  
"When... I saw you, I never thought you would... amount to hardly anything...."  
He took another shaky breathe in, before bringing his hand up to caress her cheek.

"But some...how those feelings changed... and now that you have to do it alone, I found that you're so much more than perfect..."  
He admitted through pained wheezing, the blade must have punctured a lung, and it was slowly filling up with blood.  
The realization of his imminent death hit her like a ton of bricks, smashing into her chest and causing her heart to drop.  
"You idiot..."  
She seethed through clenched teeth after once again lightly slamming her fist down on his chest in exasperation.  
"No one said you could die!! Jus'...Just give me some time and I c-can-...!  
She finally let the tears fall, as they rolled off her cheeks smacking onto his pained expression.  
"Why are you.. so afraid..?" He asked, the end of his sentence coming out as a raspy whisper.  
Her grip on his blood soaked flak jacket tightened under her knuckles with her face contorting in despair.  
"Because..! I don't-...!"  
The choked breathe that suffocated her lungs, resulted in a pathetic sob she couldn't contain as she decided to continue even how pitiful it was.  
"I-I can't live without you Kurou-kun!"  
She shouted through a strangled cry.  
His weak chuckle filled her ears, she cherished it with the utmost care, fearing it would be the last time she heard the carefree laugh of his.  
"But you have to..."  
He whispered with a bittersweet smile.  
"Why!?"  
She managed to exclaim pathetically.  
The glint in his eye softened immensely with the purest affection and love she's ever seen.  
"Because... you _deserve_ it..."  
The reality of the situation weighed itself on her heart, crushing it in the process.  
Her sobs growing more desperate with every struggling breath he took.  
The words pierced to her core, deafening her emotions and hardening her exterior.  
"Then... I'll never let you go!"  
She exclaimed through tears, bringing her fingers to clutch his hand that was currently caressing her face.  
His weak smile only widened at her determination.

His forearm finally grew heavy, bringing it to a slow fall as she lowered it to his side.

She knew he didn't have much time left and for the moment the most important thing was to be by his side.  
With his breath growing more shallow by the second -- she knew what she had to do..  
Her hands detached from his, bringing them up to execute a few hand seals.  
Her palm ignited with a flashing white light, before she covered his eyes with it.

The brimming tears rolled out from her eyes as they squeezed shut while the incident a few moments ago began to reenact before her with her pained expression switching to one of fury.  
"Tenma..."  
She hissed murderously.  
She knew he would forget what just happened to him with her jutsu.  
Erasing the memory completely and burdening her with the treachery herself, but perhaps it was the best for him to not remember the reason why he was ultimately succumbing to deaths lethargic pull, unknown to the deception that brought him to this.

"..Heh..."  
He gave a close eyed smile before hacking violently, sputtering his blood on her delicate face in the process.  
She didn't even flinch at the action, her mind was caught between disbelief and hatred.  
She never imagined in a million years that Kurou's life long friend would betray them.  
Let alone murder the only person she loved in cold blood.  
It was completely unthinkable, the thought of the treacherous rat made her blood boil and her heart beat erratically with blood lust.

Her darkened glare peered down at his face as he mouthed her name, unable to speak.  
His helpless nature was beyond pitiful, and only fueled her rage more thinking how someone was able to cut down an esteemed man she respected so.

Her head lowered to his, covering his form with her shadow, shielding him from the moons pale rays that peered through the neighboring window.  
His dark eyes opened a few centimeters to stare up at the grief stricken girl, noting how beautiful she was despite her distressed appearance.  
Somehow he could always confide in her warm smiles and gentle eyes that loved him unconditionally, but seeing her features wrinkled with heartbreak was something he hadn't seen in a long time, which only made his gut lurch and his brow furrow with concern.  
She had never known true sorrow before gazing into his semi glazed eyes, barely gripping onto its life.  
It couldn't be possible, it just couldn't!  
The man she grew up around when she was a child.  
The man who taught her everything she knew, from morals to the most intricate jutsu.  
The one who loved her more than life itself.  
And now he was breathing his last breath before her.. It was all too surreal.  
She needed something to hold onto, something to verify this was actually happening to her.  
Her breath ghosted over his face, tickling his nose before she dipped her head --  
squeezing her eyes shut while pressing her soft lips against his in a loving manner.  
The unreal encounter dazed her mind with the images of favorable times she's spent with him.  
Forcing herself to accept the ordeal at hand, and relishing in the first and last kiss she will ever receive from him.  
Her hands slid their way up from his chest and caressed his cheeks tenderly, smoothing her fingers over the softness of his skin.  
She never expected for it to end this way, and the more time she spent thinking about it, the more she couldn't believe it happened.  
Her head tilted, deepening the innocent kiss as she exhaled through her nose.  
The bitter taste of copper filled her mouth, confirming her worst nightmare was very true.  
He used what little strength he had left to return the kiss, as a sign of his unadulterated love for her, still unknown to the reason why he was breathing his last.  
The warmth of his lips caressed hers while she inhaled his scent, the smell of blood intwining with his natural musky fragrance, ruining it's destined effect.  
The sensual yet inexperienced kiss ended too quickly for the teen as she pulled back to stare lovingly into his eyes, watching the light fade from them, while he finally expelled a final breath.  
She stared with a detached expression, afraid to do anything but gaze at his lifeless from.  
She knew from here on out nothing was ever going to be the same.

 

Akira's eyes darted open flinging herself upwards into a sitting position.  
Her heart beat drummed rapidly in her ears, as her disoriented vision focused on her Akatsuki cloak that previously laid draped over her sleeping form.

"You don't look so good.."  
Zetsu's voice chimed next to her, startling her as he laid a hand on her shoulder.  
She almost got whiplash from the speed of turning her head to face him.  
His brow furrowed in confusion upon studying her tear stained face, puzzling him as to what she was so upset about.  
Her expression mirrored his, bringing a hand up to finger the dampness that covered her cheek as it glistened against the early morning rising sun.  
With her eyes growing wide from realization, she abruptly turned herself away from his gaze, embarrassed of her vulnerability.

She thought this was a poor definition for a high ranking shinobi to represent herself, as she wiped her face against the back of her hand.  
She breathed an apology at the display.  
"I-I'm so-"

"So there _is_ something hiding under that cool exterior, eh?"  
Zetsu playfully interrupted, unintentionally lighting up the mood with being generally nosy.  
"You don't understand..."  
Her fingers curled into a fist, gripping the cloak that was laid on her lap in frustration.  
Her anger wasn't directed towards him exactly, she just couldn't manage to find a way to explain to him what was distressing her.  
Every time she tried to find the words to excuse her distraught state her throat would choke up, leaving her too afraid to reveal more of her vulnerable state.

Warmth spread over her trembling fist, with it becoming encompassed by a much larger pallid hand in a comforting manner.  
It was true he didn't understand why she was so upset, but he was still capable of compassion..  
It was clearly evident he was atleast upon her turning her head to see his brow lifted and furrowed with concern, a small lopsided frown adorning him.  
So many times she's woken up alone, scared, and upset, waiting for Kurou to tenderly wipe the tears away like he use to with his sympathetic smile. He understood her more than anyone could, and feeling the reassuring squeeze her partner gave made warmth spread through her chest with love -- reminding her she wasn't alone even though he was unknown to this fact.  
"Thank you, Senpai..."  
She repeated the words from last night with a more bittersweet tone, relishing in the firm grip while intwining her fingers in his.  
"...You can count on me."  
He reluctantly murmured once again, this time the words were one of affirmation, something he was use to receiving than giving due to his codependent personality.

 

Simmering their way through Konoha's seemingly uncharted territory, the sun was blocked out by a measurable size of clouds, giving the heavily wooded landscape a darker appeal.  
She trudged through thick vines and heavily mossed enclosures, before ceasing to an abrupt halt from a change in chakra signature that slightly warped the atmosphere.  
"Zetsu.."  
Her tone hushed preparing to warn her partner.  
"I know."  
With that his form sunk low melding into the ground to disappear from her view.  
Great, he fled.. She snorted out of annoyance, so much for being a team.  
She believed she could hold her own anyway, this couldn't be too difficult than any other confrontation she's faced.  
Or at least she hoped so.

Her senses focused in on a number of outlets for the chakra to originate.  
It would be hard to pin point which one was the closest, leaving her to decide whether she should make the first move or not.

* _SMACK_ *

Her hand connected with the hilt of the recently thrown kunai thrown in her direction, catching it before it could make deadly contact with her face.  
"Heh.."  
A smug smirk contorted her lips upwards as she gripped the kunai with intensity.

* _SwoOSH_ *

Her wrist flexed, throwing it back into the direction it came from with trained accuracy.  
The sound of rustling could be heard from the branch above her, catching her attention before her recently unsheathed katana made contact with steel weighing down on her with murderous intent.  
"Konoha shinobi, huh?"  
She growled, putting more weight into her arms to push back the kunai wielding ninja that crossed blades with her.  
What did they want?  
She thought they were moving unaware of the neighboring villages prying eyes, but apparently a scouting team was deployed somewhere among their journey..  
Two scouts emerged from the trees, weapons drawn and caution written on their features, clearly afraid at the sight of the Akatsuki cloak she adorned.  
With their attention focused on her she decided this was the best time to speak up.  
"Consider yourself lucky you've made it this far, but I don't plan on holding back anymore.."  
She threatened the three shinobi, gripping her katana with more force that signified her warning.  
"You're trespassing on Konoha territory, we are ordering you to leave."  
The more courageous ninja ordered in a stern tone, bouncing back to a tree branch a measurable distance away with the others.  
She knew very well they didn't expect her to just tuck tail and run, it was especially  
evident from them changing into some sort of formation, showing they didn't plan on backing down from a fight, even if it meant their untimely demise.

"Make me."  
She dared in a devilish voice, enjoying the site of their willingness.  
Her weight shifted to her heel rolling the momentum down to her toes, propelling herself into the air above her enemy.  
Her palm smoothed its way down the blade as it drew back, rocking a deadly force behind it as she descended her way down to her target.  
His immediate reaction was to dodge, mimicking her earlier movement but instead falling to his knees as his ankle was snagged around a vines unnatural grip, leaving him vulnerable to the higher ranking woman's attack.

* _srrRACK_!*

The tip of her blade plunged through his shoulder with a unpleasant sound while the shinobi gasped in shock.

With his current disadvantage, her knee cap smashed into his startled face with a sick crack resonating in the air. The raw force of the strike made her pull the bloody katana out with a wet smack and knocking the wounded man unconscious.

The rush of blood pumping through her veins revitalized her with new found vigor, a villainess sneer taking on as its form.

"Taichō!"  
The female Konoha ninja shouted, witnessing her captains early defeat.  
She didn't have to kill them, but she could definitely put a scare into 'em.

"Don't get too hasty, Haruko!"  
The older shinobi commanded to the female, forcibly restraining her with an arm.

With intentions to end things quickly, Akira sheathed her katana and lifted her hands, forming intricate seals at an impressive speed.  
Her jutsu wasn't something common, and it took on a rare form originating from her Kekkei Genkai, and the element lightning that showcased a true hybrid of abilities.

"Shōmei Hashira no Jutsu!"

An irradiation erupted from her hands, shooting the sphere of light with lightning fast speed in their direction.  
Both ninja dodged the destructive orb with grace, landing a few feet away from the crater it left in the trees stomach.  
"That was close..."  
The older male commented, fearing what would of happened if he hadn't moved in the nick of time.

Akira's fingers curled into a fist, arm outstretched towards the impact she made.  
"Release!"  
Her tone of voice lowered an octave, the sound of it striking fear into the dumbfounded shinobis.  
* _boomf_ *  
Air guffawed from inside the tree's small crater, dust lifting up into its stream as it expelled air from its core.  
The two wannabe heros watched in terror as the light expanded from the trunk and grew into a measurable size before exploding into a whirling sea of white chaos.  
"Haruko! Hide!"  
The awe stricken girl didn't respond as she watched the devastating whirlwind tear the tree from its roots and recklessly get sucked into its vortex and ultimately shredding upon impact.

* _Boar_ *

* _Snake_ *

* _Hare_ *

* _Smack_!*

The male shinobi reacted quicker than his comrade by executing a jutsu of his own after slamming his hands flat on the ground, causing the floor to tremor below them and a small amount of earth jut up from the ground to shield them from the catastrophic blast.  
The wind howled violently as it smashed into the rock wall, destroying its foundation with every passing second.  
They were out of their league and they knew it, nothing chilled him to the bone more than the spine chilling grin she gave right before her cataclysmic jutsu.  
If the Jōnins wanted to survive this reign of terror they had to come up with a plan fast.

Akira observed the aftermath left in her wake.  
Her chakra depleting from the extensive ninjutsu that left her breath a bit more heavier than usual.  
She rested on one knee, realizing the intensive procedure took more out of her than she expected.  
The large tree branch under her feet hid her from the enemies view that was a considerable distance away.  
With her back planted against the bark, she cursed herself for getting to clumsy with the jutsu and destroying a small amount of the area.  
She hadn't expected it to be that strong, but that doesn't mean she wasn't happy about it, but the fact that she found it so hard to tame the flow of chakra she expelled was what really irked her.  
She had to be more careful or else she would end up causing more attention to be drawn than she would want.  
Maybe if her partner was around she wouldn't have to worry about it that much, though she planned on giving him a piece of her mind whenever she found him.

"Found her!"  
The female shinobi exclaimed to her teammate.  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a paper bomb being slapped from under her.  
She went to move but felt her upper body constricted by a set of arms clasping from under her armpits to wrap around her chest protectively.  
Akira's back collided into something firm, before watching herself materialize through the wood.

"Gotcha!"

A familiar voice playfully said into the shell of her ear.  
After her vision focused she found herself merging from out of the wood once again, but the destination was different.  
She forced herself out of the tight grip, turning around to face whomever it was that previously restricted her movement.

"You s-scared me! I-I thought you fled!"  
She exclaimed, perplexed to see none other than White Zetsu.  
That being said it was extremely confusing to see just him.  
"Hehe, shouldn't you be happy to see me? After all that jutsu of yours sure drained a lot of your chakra.."  
He noted in a teasing manner, obviously he was present the whole time, lurking among the sidelines of battle.  
She should of guessed that would of been his forte, the type to scheme and disillusion the enemy along with similar abilities, but how can he exactly tell what condition she's in just by ogling her?  
She didn't exactly perceive him as the sensory type..  
"I hate to admit that it did get kinda out of hand but, I'm thinking I put a rather big dent into their defenses since there's only two of them left. It should be pretty easy to finish them off."  
Akira humbly confessed before leaning her head even closer to the already unreasonably close male, and squinting her eyes at the spectacle that distorted the side of his face where his darker counterpart should of been, disrupting his value of personal space with curiosity.  
Her eyes scanned over the stretched white skin that took place for most of his features on the right side of his face, twisting one end of his lips from its original shape, and resulting in an unwilling grin that stretched all the way up to his cheek.  
she decided to ask the prominent question that wouldn't stop irking her.  
"By the way.. where's the _other_ guy.. and what happened to your face?"  
His lively expression changed to one of being insulted.  
The unintentionally rude question caused the muscle above his lip to contract and the lines where his nose met his brow creased, resulting in an undeniably adorable nose scrunch.  
If it wasn't for her accidental ill mannered inquiry about his obviously semi 'deformed' face, she would of found his bitter expression cute, despite his warped characteristics.  
"My face..?"  
He questioned with disdain lacing his words, clearly hoping she wasn't talking about what he thought she was, while he brought a hand up to smooth his fingers over his right cheek in hopes she was implying he had something on his face..  
Upon finding nothing, his features contorted into a hurt expression as he replied with a threatening tone.  
"Is that some sort of joke?"

She forgot how thin-skinned he was, realizing her comment truly was reckless.  
If she didn't fix it now she swore she'd never hear the end of it as she backed a small distance away from him.  
"U-uh I was hoping you would laugh!"  
Akira nervously tried to amend her words with a lie, fearing the inevitable icy draft of his cold shoulder.  
His arms crossed showcasing his unconvinced appearance.  
"Forget it! Listen, I have the feeling the girl can sense my chakra pres-"

* _CHLAP_!*

Sharp steel connected with white skin, piercing through the flesh completely, leaving a wet slapping sound to emit from the blow.  
The Konoha Jōnin's kunai penetrated straight through Zetsu's stomach, with the force of the strike so deep his forearm burrowed into his skin, leaving his hand to hang loosely from the other side.  
Akira was left speechless after witnessing her comrade being brutally ripped through by the enemy.  
Her legs frozen in place from the surprise attack, as she tried to decipher Zetsu's blank expression while the male Jōnin attempted to pull his arm out from his gut, finding the newly torn skin caving in on his arm and blade in an unnaturally searing hot goo.

Caught in the tide of dread's suffocating waves once again, Akira felt similar to when she witnessed Kurou's betrayal.  
The stomach churning view of her partner being gutted spurned a hatred she believed to have suppressed for years.. with its wrath resurrecting in a split second from the fiery ashes that lay dormant inside her.  
The feeling of hopelessness and regret smashed into her like a strong wind colliding into her lungs, forcing a gust of air to harshly expel from her mouth.

' _What have you done, Sensei!?_ '

Zetsu's legs stumbled backwards, with his arm bracing against the tree causing the shinobi to free his hand with a grunt from the momentum, losing his kunai somewhere inside him in the process.  
The careless movement caused the white goo to splatter backwards, spraying a generous amount on Akira's upper body with a smack as she flinched in shock.

Her fingers curled into fists, feeling the cold and bitter anguish quickly evolve into a red hot rage, beginning to mutter the same words she said to her departed sensei breathlessly.  
"You idiot.."  
Her vision flashed the melancholic images, all the while her katana glinting dangerously as she unsheathed it.  
The change of atmosphere shifted -- the shinobi cautiously observed her venomous glare, waiting for the right time to escape the scene.  
With her arms raised in a familiar position and the Jōnin beginning to flee, she wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily..

With her feet shooting her up into the grey atmosphere, she ensured her new heights to high elevations, fusing her chakra into the jump and skyrocketing her through a puff of cloud.  
Her damp cloak drifted behind her form, the air rushing behind it in a fury causing it to flap at the movement.  
The sea of clouds swayed similar to a whirlpool, the suns rays peaking through the small enclosure of cloud as a result.

Akira's katana lay high above her head, the rays of sunshine illuminated the steel before she pointed it to the ground she slowly descended downwards to.  
"I'll flip the switch on your life."  
Her tone of voice disgustingly poisonous, as her free hand began to execute one handed seals with it harboring malicious intent with her eyes watering from the intensity of the rushing wind that contradicted against her spiral downwards.  
' _Why are you.. so afraid_..?'  
The words echoed through her mind like a soft whisper, but its impact similar to a gunshot wound, filling her head with disease.  
Her fear was something that always controlled her, even till this day she made predictions based on its account, allowing it to threaten her with a dreadful demise or outcome.  
The chill of its allegations was a never ending cycle that stemmed from reinforced trauma that made her grimace at the reminder.

Why should she let it command her and leave it to change her future for the worse?  
That she may never understand.. but she vaguely began to understand the idea of making it up to hurt herself.  
Believing if she were to sever the strings it used to play on actions and emotions, that she might actually be able to accomplish something phenomenal.  
Why was she afraid?  
Was this what Kurou was truly asking her?

"I'm not afraid anymore.."  
The words coming out more as a winded murmur than a psychological breakthrough from the winds relentless flux, gushing wind into her mouth from the speed at which she fell.  
She muttered the words to release her jutsu, the air current distorting their coherency but it relaying the message effectively.  
This would surely put a toll on her chakra level if anything..  
Knowing the risks she held a firm grip on her katana, pointing precisely at the two Konohagakure's ninjas fleeting direction that she gained from her birds eye view.  
A small pillar of light erupted from the tip of the blade before striking them clean through with a searing burn.  
With her chakra levels dangerously low, the untamed jutsu took advantage of the situation, once again the illuminated rays flared up and exploded into a seismic chaos she couldn't contain.  
Her equilibrium lost and a deadly dome of white light below her, she plummeted towards the ground in a frenzy.  
This time she didn't fear her outcome, a part of her not allowing the creeping sensation to appear, while her eyelids closed and her body curled inwards, bracing for impact.  
She waited.. And waited.... And waited but still nothing...


	7. Memory Lane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this chapter to be honest, I had a lil fun writing it.

She opened her eyes out of silent frustration, unsure of what to expect.  
But instead found herself engulfed in black, unable to view her surroundings, before realizing she was laying flat on her back staring up at the scattered sky.  
Sitting up with her vision still blurry and faint, she could tell she was a little ways away from the blast radius, due to the tell tale sign of singed trees and debris that littered the small section of deep forest.  
But how did she get here?  
"That was quite a blast.."  
Zetsu's disembodied voice commented, his tone raising ever so slightly from its naturally high pitched tone with fascination.  
Her hands quaked as the white goo shifted down them and formed into an identifiable form.  
"H-how are you still alive..?  
Akira croaked with her head painfully throbbing.  
A sense of vitality filled her, re endorsing her sense of self with a new found vigor.  
The white goo began to shape out her seemingly deceased comrade right before her wide eyes, reincarnating him with the sense of hope that still lingered among her burnt out senses.  
"Heh. That jutsu of yours was really something! I don't think I've seen anything like it but don't you think you over did it a little?"  
His smirk threatened her ego as he outstretched a renewed hand towards her, offering his assistance to lift her off the ground.  
Her teary eyes blinked in surprise at his new renewed persona, unfamiliar to his chameleon like abilities and not taking it for granted like she should have.  
She allowed to him to lift her up off the ground then,

* _Slap_!*

"Y-you idiot.."  
Her voice tremored after smacking her hand across his cheek in betrayal.  
"I thought you were dead!"  
Don't get me wrong, she was appreciating the fact that he was alive, but the illusion of him deceased from a foreign shinobis gutting action brought her down to a new level of grief and disbelief, disguising it with anger.  
If only this could of happened with Kurou...  
"What are you talking about...? Aren't you happy I'm alive?"  
He asked in confusion, running a hand along his tender cheek bone.  
"You never told me you could survive something like that!"  
She exclaimed, weakly smashing a balled up fist into his chest futilely, allowing her teeth to crick together with the force of them gritting.  
He didn't expect her to get so upset about it..  
Though he knew she was emotional to some extent, predicting it was some kind of quality that was required with women but her distraught mannerisms drug him towards feeling guilty and confused about something he didn't quite understand yet.  
"I-I'm sorry..?"  
He didn't really know exactly what he was apologizing for but anything was better than a woman's scorn..  
Her frustration consumed her, the already dramatic moment accentuated her aggressive behavior with her exposing a cold shoulder by turning herself away from him.

"Ugh! You could of at least told me!"  
This change of situation made him tilt his head in confusion.  
The unpredictable emotions were something he had never encountered, and it was only because they were coming from concern for him.  
"You really think that'd be enough to kill me...?" He questioned shrugging with one arm.  
This cooled her down enough to give him a curious side glance, shaking her head no.  
  
"And do you _really_ believe it would be by some Konoha folk?" He added with disdain.  
She crossed her arms, gaze downcast and nudging the grass with her foot pointlessly before shaking her head once more.  
He cracked a smile at her confession, amused with her quick surrender and propping a hand on his hip, happy to have defused the bomb that was her temper.

"...Did you have something to do with me landing that fall...?"  
She asked in a defeated tone. Wanting to figure the out the reason she was uninjured.

"It must of been that white stuff, eh?" She added thinking back to when he was previously gutted, and glancing up to look at his smirking face.

"They're spores,"

"Gross! Don't tell me that's what was on me!" She quickly exclaimed interrupting him, clearly displeased.

"How rude!"  
He copied her movements turning his back to her in defiance.

"I guess you don't wanna know then." He stated annoyed by her uncalled for comment.

"No, wait!" She stumbled towards him and gripping his shoulder to turn him back around.

"I'm sorry. Just give me a break, okay?"  
Akira gave her best pitiful look, pleading with large doe eyes for the taller male to sate her curiosity.  
"...Fine.."  
He surrendered under her earnest gaze, resting a hand on his hip once again after she released her grip.  
"I can give my own chakra to someone if needed through its source, so I guess you could say it's a part of me."

"A part of you? So you're saying you attached yourself.. to me?" She asked hesitantly, putting the pieces together bit by bit.  
It made a lot of sense atleast, it would explain why the shinobi's devastating blow didn't even put a dent in his unblemished skin.  
"Eh~, I guess you could say that.." He answered, eyebrow lifted and a small scowl, he was unsure if that was too standard of an explanation, but he'd rather not get into much technicalities for the moment.

"I wouldn't compare it to a jutsu or anything, so I dunno what you would call it besides an ability. Not only that..."  
He trailed off lifting his only arm up, outstretching a hand and gesturing for her to take it.  
She eyed it curiously before resting her hand in his, his palm enveloping her dainty fingers while stretching his own to wrap around her small wrist.  
A white clay like substance smoothed over her skin and ended at her elbow.  
A gasp escaped her lips, watching it smooth and mold to her like a white second skin.

He dropped his hold of her hand, eyeing her fascinated reaction as she brought her arm up to her face, turning it around to examine every bit of it.  
"So what does it do?" She asked. "Just watch."  
The tacky substance quickly began to harden, tightening around her arm and fingers.

"I'm guessing this was what protected me then." Akira noted, predicting his explanation.

"Well that's not all to it, why don't you give it a try." He said, bringing his hand up to curl it into a fist and shaking it comically.  
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "It has more than just defensive abilities?"

"That's right! Reinforcing the shell of it with my chakra will not only protect you from almost anything, but it can be just as destructive... Not to mention this will be the first time I get to witness somebody using this."  
He said, his eyes glinting mischievously, excited to see its power,

"This should be a real treat." He murmured watching her closely as she winded her fingers into a deadly fist before slamming her knuckles into a tree that sat near the two.

 

* _BAM_!*

 

It's bark ripped and tore from the force, causing it to crumble and fall before her.  
Their faces were beyond priceless, both astoundingly amused with the devastating action.

"I apologize for earlier, this has definitely got to be one of the coolest thing I've seen!"  
She exclaimed, both looking at each other with childish expressions.

 

* _SssRAM_!!*

 

Her fist smashed into another, this time shredding it upon impact with double the force than last time.

"Yeah!"

Akira exclaimed, giving him a look of satisfaction from the raw power trip she was getting.

" _Yeah_!"   
He cheered along with her, pumping a fist into the air with a comical little jump.

 

* _BOOMF_!*

 

"Woo!"

 

"Yosh!"

 

* _BAM_!*

 

"Yeaaahh!"

 

"Ye-!"

 **"What are you idiots doing?"**  
Black Zetsu questioned, his raspy tone vicious and perplexed as he 'glared' at the two Akatsuki who were currently in the midst of throwing amusing gestures at each other.

"Uhh, I just- I was um-" Akira stammered.  
Both of their smirks dropped, unsure how to explain their position to the serious man.

 **"You've done enough damage to draw attention to yourselves, we need to leave if we plan on making it to Kusagakure without any more altercations. So both of you, stop slacking off."**  
His annoyance evident through his words, causing White Zetsu to sheepishly scratch the back of his head  
"You sure took a while." He admitted to his counterpart, dropping his prior enthusiastic disposition.

 **"Tracking ahead of time isn't as easy as it seems, but I happened to get the coordinates we need to find Orochimaru's hideout. So I suppose it paid off in the end."**  
Akira's eyes lit up at his statement, skipping her ways towards him "Really? That'll save us a lot of time!"  
She happily said, giddily throwing a thumbs up at him in congratulations.  
She definitely didn't want to spend most of her day tracking down some mad man's lair just to find herself getting lost in the end, so this was exactly the type of news she was looking forward to.  
"But how did you get that information exactly..?" She questioned letting her arm fall to her side.  
**"Long story short, he's not breathing.."** He ominously rasped.  
She cringed thinking about his wrath, definitely not wanting to get any more on his bad side..

"Enough said, let's just get out of here." She finally announced, allowing the three to collect their bearings and leave.

 

 

The pairing eventually put a great distance between themselves and their previous destination, finding themselves somewhere inside supposedly Orochimaru's lair.

"So you're telling me this is Orochimaru's hideout? A _shack_?"  
The kunoichi asked, completely confused as to what she expected as she explored the small rural set up that was dimly lit under the moons illuminating rays.

**"You'd be foolish to believe he wouldn't have some sort of barrier guarding the area."**

Black zetsu noted, once again morphed with his partner in their 'natural' state.  
And what a display it was to watch their transition to one as it finally sated her curiosity of how the two were able to split and pair whenever they pleased.  
"Now that you mention it, I wouldn't be surprised if he set some type of genjutsu on the place." His waxen counterpart mentioned observantly, as he slid a white hand on the wall, adding pressure to it every so often.  
If that were so, she wouldn't have a hard time disrupting the genjutsu with her trained right eye.  
"Then we should probably assume he did, so that would mean we'll have to differentiate the abnormal from actual reality.." Akira murmured just loud enough for him to hear her, sounding as though she's dealt with this particular problem before.  
"You know what to do then?" Zetsu wondered if the kunoichi was as good as she said she was.  
So many he's encountered were mostly just big talk, and only half of the time would he get to see the real deal, but most of the time that was when someone was on the verge of death and forced to their breaking point.  
Not that he could complain about it though, he found overextension to be just as fascinating for him as witnessing forbidden jutsus, due to the reason when pushed to near death shinobi allow themselves to unleash their carnal and raw energy to harness a one last blow that's just as powerful as a prohibited ninjutsu.  
If he is permitted to spectate an interesting new ability, he would gladly accept.  
He just happened to be a generally nosy guy.

"Well I think it should be rather easy with you... two.. with me."  
HERE She still wasn't use to using the plural version for 'him' because she sometimes recognized them as the same person, but when it came down to it she couldn't help but feel more affectionate towards the friendlier Zetsu.  
Despite his occasional intrusive questions or his semi-creepy disposition, she felt he was carefree and easier to talk to even when he could be quite thin-skinned..  
"You should be able to sense the change in chakra signatures in the area, we just have to pinpoint directly where." Akira stated while moving throughout the small open-door hovel, unsure what she was looking for exactly.

* _Tack_!*

Her head shifted into the direction of the sound.

* _Tack_!*

Her view cast upon the unusual man that deemed the title of her partner, roughly knocking on the ply wood that served as the walls of the shack.

"What are yo-"

* _Tock_!*

**"Right here."**

He abruptly slammed his fist through the hollowed out wood, destroying its structure efficiently before she swiftly made route to his direction, trying to figure out his intentions.  
Her eyes made focus with the intricately designed piece of paper that sat secretly behind the walls interior.  
"You were right then, it was a barrier seal." She said ogling its design.  
**"I can sense it's corrupted chakra presence, I don't think it's an ordinary seal.."** Zetsu mentioned, weary of its simple placement.  
"Genjutsu then? Let me see it.."  
Akira peered through the hole in the wall as he quickly made room for her to stand in front of it.  
Her eyes closed in concentration, bringing her hands up to connect her middle and index fingers together to form a familiar seal.  
Her chakra swam in waves inside the base of her neck letting it pool and mold into a perfect formation of yin.  
A strong exhale seethed through her nostrils, allowing the heterochromic Akatsuki to study her features that contorted with focus.  
The chakra finally ruptured and shot upwards to mold behind her right eye, making it sensitive to the slightest abnormalities that surrounded its vision.  
Akira's eye shot open in a fury, it's gaze directly on the intrusion of space that sat in front of her.

"Release!"

She watched the atmosphere around the barrier guffaw with colors that an untrained eye couldn't see, as it dispelled from her vision along with most of her surroundings.  
The wooden walls morphed into stone while the two witnessed their enclosed environment change to an outdoor setting, revealing an open mouthed cave to stand in their path with its rocky structure beckoning for their exploration.

 **"How commendable.."**  
She was surprised to find Black Zetsu actually pleased with something she did, because he was certainly one hard to impress but no doubt the praise left a small giddy feeling in her chest as she cracked a confident smile.  
"My right eye can serve as a tool to release complicated genjutsu, it can be quite handy at times!"  
She said begging for more of his unusual approval as she gave him a self assured grin, waiting for his agreement.  
**"Don't get full of yourself."** He grumbled uncaringly.  
Her smile remained despite otherwise, still content with the fact he actually admired an ability of hers.  
"I thought someone who possessed the Sharingan could only release a genjutsu like that.. Unless you made the seal yourself."  
His counterpart noted in a nosy manner, unsatisfied with the little information he had with the new technique of hers.  
She turned to face him, and shifted on her feet in thought while trying to find an easy way to explain it.  
"With my jutsu that can perform memory extraction I can store someone's reality inside my left eye... Which I suppose is similar to an ocular jutsu."  
She said bringing a hand to point to each eye.  
She continued,  
"So with my remaining eye I can train it to see the similar patterns of reality that come from the memory storage in my left eye, making the right more adept in spotting abnormalities seen in chakra. It's like a product of an ability I guess."

"Hm, I would love to see that compete against a Sharingan.."  
White Zetsu quietly mused, reveling in the fascination of it all.  
"I don't think much of any one can compete with a Sharingan.. let alone me.."  
She unenthusiastically replied as she let a tiny frown contort her lips.  
"Yeah, it wouldn't even put a dent in an Uchiha, I'm sure."  
He said with a thoughtful expression, lifting his pallid fingers up to carries his chin thought.  
Her ego plummeted, letting the frown deepen on her discouraged features.  
"M-maybe not.. I can't even deploy a formidable genjutsu, can I..?" She said deeply saddened with the fact of it.  
She had to admit she was one hell of a push over at times, but this terribly bothered her, because she had a incredible fixation to become strong.  
As the soon as Kurou's demise she immediately wanted to be even more powerful than him and avenge him, but the death itself destroyed her self esteem with one blow, causing her to believe it was her fault.  
Maybe if she was skilled and wise enough to spot the lecherous people that planned to betray them, then she could of stopped it.  
Though It felt like every time when someone doubted her, it was just a reminder that she was incompetent enough to let something like that happen.  
She couldn't do anything to stop it, and that just made her head sink lower in a sulk.  
He was gone but God did she miss him, similar to bodies of waters that miss the moon.  
The small hope of that she'll see him rise again, and illuminate her waves of loneliness with his comforting iridescent light once again.

Her thoughts of longing were quickly interrupted by her partner's footsteps echoing against the cave walls, signaling for them to continue onwards.  
With her melancholic disposition still evident, she followed him inside the dark murky depths of the cave, trekking more and more into the longing absentminded thoughts with each step she took...


	8. Release!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the duo find themselves wandering the seemingly endless halls of Orochimaru's hideout, they run into trouble along the way-- well more like fall into trouble..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah well congrats if you made it this far, and sorry 4 the long wait for this chapter.  
> Work has been keeping me busy lately so I've taken this weekend as a time to write it. Contains light fluff btw I guess, I like writing fluff lol

 

 The change in environment was so subtle that Akira found herself puzzled to be in some sort of underground structure so fast.  
"It shouldn't be this easy to infiltrate this guy's hideout."  
Akira mentioned, observing the continuous burnt orange that plastered the walls and ceiling as she descended down the long hall with her partner.  
"This place _is_ kind of eery..." Zetsu noted, his voice trailing of with a hint of disdain.   
**"Don't be fooled, I'm sure there's someone lurking behind the scenes somewhere."**  
He reasoned, attempting to convince the duo to stay alert amongst the seemingly endless hallway.  
Akira's eyes shifted from wall to wall, unexpectedly growing antsy despite her usual patient attitude.  
Perhaps it was the suspense building from each step they took that echoed of the walls and clacked against its surface to resound among the infinite space ahead of them.  
Were they ever gonna get there?  
Where was 'there', anyways?  
"Even if we were able to stumble upon somebody, what would we do?" Akira pointed out the flaw in their 'plan', her words reflecting something similar to a whine from her irritation.  
"Hmm... I didn't really think about that.."  
Zetsu's furrowed brow revealed his befuddled mentality as he humbly confessed to the shortcoming.  
"Are you kidding me? You didn't even come up with a plan?" Akira snorted loudly, finding it somewhat humorous to see a seemingly skilled spy of a notorious terrorist organization unable to come up with some sort of strategy, and instead amble aimlessly in hopes of a confrontation.  
What a spectacle.  
"Hey, don't look at me like that! It's not every day I get sent to some creeps lair to do some digging around.."  
He defensively said, noticing her raised brow and convicting stare that made him stop in his tracks along with her.  
"I guess this is gonna take some actual work then..." She muttered her eyes descended from his, only to fixate on the dark colored ring on his right pinkie finger that seemed to catch her eye.  
"What is it, anyway? Some sort of initiate verification?" She quirked up, seizing his wrist to ogle the green accessory with interest.  
His face instantly conveying his surprise from the unexpected grip.  
He should be use to her physical clinginess by now, yet somehow it still made him slightly uncomfortable whenever she ran her soft fingers over hid darkened arm, carefully lifting it upwards into view.  
**"It's important to the sealing of the bijū, trust me.. you'll need it."**  
He rasped quietly not in the mood for any of her antics.  
"Will I need the nail polish too?" She snickered while playfully pointing out the pink polish that beautifully littered his nails.  
A small frown made its way to his face, offended by her teasing.  
"Hey, I happen to like these colors!" He defensively said, unable to find the right retort as he yanked his hand back to himself.  
"Oh come on, I'm just kidding. They look way better than mine anyway! See!"  
She lifted her hand up to his view, showcasing the callused knuckles and ridged nails that she attempted to maintenance.  
"How did you get them so well manicured? You think you can paint mine afterwards..?" She said eyeing his cradled hand towards his chest with admiration.  
His demeanor instantly changed to a nervous state, shuffling awkwardly on his feet from the compliment. He wanted to shout 'no' and be done with it but his affection towards his partner had changed somewhat since the past few days.  
"I-I..er- well.." He stammered indecisively unsure if he should keep up the appearance of mysteriousness he built so well.  
Would having a friend change that? He figured so. I mean it wasn't everyday someone wanted to do something with him, no matter how petty the activity may seem, but no doubt he was surprised by her open-mindedness and ability to not judge a book by its cover.  
That was something he hadn't seen in a _long_ time. 

 

 **"He's trying to say thank you."** His more blunt accomplice confessed uncaringly.  
His features finally relaxed, somewhat relieved but still unsure if that was the right thing to say..  
"I'll take that as a yes then." Akira smugly said while the corner of her lips lifted into a content smirk.  
She moved to rest her back against the wall behind her, bringing her arms up to cross them casually.  
"It's not like you'v-- eek!"  
She screeched when her back met nothing but open space, causing her to fall backwards through the wall and into blackness.  
Wind rushed against her face, smacking into her cheeks at high speeds before she physically prepared herself for the fall.  
"Oof!"  
She exhaled a breathe that scattered the dust on the cold stone floor she landed on.  
Her cheek pressed against the damp cobblestone as her eyes fluttered open to view her decrepit surroundings.  
She sat up with her head ringing despite covering it before impact as she observed the dark room in confusion.  
"How did I get here..?"  
Her voice echoed wispfully around her. Her fear spiked upon feeling a rough force slam into her chest reverberating through her lungs and expelling whatever air was left in them.  
"Lost, are we? Well I'm afraid you've found yourself in the wolves den.."  
A sly voice implied above her while pivoting his foot farther into her chest, forcing her to lay flat onto the floor.  
"Who the hell are you?" She seethed through gritted teeth as she wrenched her hands around the white haired male's ankle in an attempt to throw him off.  
"I could be asking you the same thing.. though it's no doubt you're Akatsuki by the cloak you're wearing."  
He smirked, adding more pressure to his heel.  
"I thought they would of thrown those tacky things out by now, but once again I've overestimated them." He condescendingly insulted.  
She did her best to let a sharp chuckle emit from her mouth.  
"That's real funny... coming from a runt who's glasses look like his mothers second grade hand-me-downs.."

  
_Savage._

Furrowing his brow in anger, he threw his arm back in a cowboy punch, giving her enough time to shift her hips while flexing her legs inwards and smashing the rough texture of her sandals into his stomach in one swift movement.  
He choked on his breathe violently before wrenching himself backwards from her second attack in the nick of time.  
"I wouldn't get ahead of yourself, kunoichi. I think you're already at a disadvantage.." He breathlessly muttered all the while clutching his undoubtedly bruised abdomen.  
Akira raised an eyebrow after distancing herself from him, waiting for him to continue.  
"You see.." He trailed off, a taunting grin lacing his face passively whilst gesturing to the floor in front of her before continuing.  
"I didn't come unprepared.."  
Her eyes scanned over the dark markings that covered the ground below her as she began to panic about just how right he was.

"A sealing jutsu?" She managed to gasp out, watching him perform a few seals before feeling a numbing sensation consumed her limbs.  
"That's not all, before I have you sealed I can't just have you wriggling around, now can I?" He cynically remarked, casually making his way towards her.  
Her limbs felt like they were frozen in place.  
No it wasn't because of her initial fear, panic, or any of those things.  
It was completely unnatural and it caused everything besides her breathing and blinking to forcefully cease in its movement.  
Her eyes widened as he took _her_ kunai from her hand and clutched it in his, slowly bringing it up to view.  
"I can tell just by that look you're wondering.. How?" He said uncomfortably close while belittling her with just one look.  
She screamed internally for any muscle to jus _move_ , but there was no response at all expect for her eyes to flicker around the room helplessly like a trapped lab mouse ready to be eaten by the snake.  
He raised her blade upwards to inch it towards her neck with a smug grin.  
"But a magician never reveals his secrets.." He said finishing his taunt..  
Her eyes caught a glimpse of the kunai in front of her by the glint that cast off the neighboring torches that dimly lit the dull room.  
'Something's not right...' Akira thought as she scanned the kunai in confusion.  
Her thoughts scattered and racked together with the fear of death and eventually she forced herself to calm as much as she could, sensing something was a bit off about the whole situation.  
'Wait..!'  
Her eyes stopped at the shining steel that was being lowered carefully to her neck.  
'There's no names! My kunai's not engraved..! That must mean...'  
She squeezed her eyes shut and focused her chakra into ocular view once more.  
His rambling voice was drowned out by her concentration as he pressed the blade further into her neck while dragging it slightly, causing her to wince by the sharp point that cut into the skins surface and draw a small amount of blood that seeped from under its action.  
'..It's not real..! It's...!'  
Her right eye snapped open without a moments notice, channeling all her chakra to burst through it like an invisible force that lifted the spell.

" **Release**!" She managed through barred teeth.

Her vision melted like it was nothing, morphing into what was _really_ going on..  
The enemy's hand that was holding her kunai with deadly intentions, turned out to be her own.  
The blood was real, the pain was real, and so was guaranteed death, but it was still a false reality and only a trained eye could of seen through it. Who knows how many shinobi succumbed to this and met their demise.. That was something she couldn't think about..

_*clank!*_

The kunai landed on the floor with just the flick of her wrist, leaving a beyond stunned Kabuto to ogle her in curiosity.

"That was.. close..." She murmured to herself, staring at her trembling blood stained hand. She would have to thank the adrenaline for her quick thinking she supposed.

"That eye..." Kabuto's disbelief evident through his voice, causing her head to snap back up to stare at his wide eyes. He hadn't even moved from his spot.

'So it _was_ genjutsu.' She thought.

He let out an audible chuckle that was teetering on the scale of deranged,  
"Lord Orochimaru will be very pleased once I give him that eye of yours."  
The White haired male pleasantly said like he was talking about a nice cup of tea rather than plucking out someone's eyeball.

She forced her face to relax at his threat, resuming a poker face to feign a desensitized appearance, but on the inside she was intensely panicking..  
Her blank face was deceiving as ever but her heart rate sped up at the thought of his well deployed genjutsu.  
She never saw it coming. How did he perform that without her knowledge?  
Was it the earlier seals..?  
No.. that had to be the sealing jutsu... but what if--  
Kabuto's hands lifted once again while her brain went haywire causing her to respond with a quick jut of movement that would of made the Yellow Flash jealous.  
His head tipped back, dodging the incoming attack with grace, earning a frustrated growl that resonated through her throat at his failure to comply.  
Dodging her taijutsu with poised movement, he left his chin unhidden from her calloused knuckle as she took advantage of the situation and let it make contact with his jaw.  
With a swift punch to his newly revealed abdomen that caused him to grunt in pain and send him flying backwards, he let out a shocked gasp after being sent stumbling backwards into an unknown pair of arms.

Her eyes made contact with yellow orbs, making her message clear to the absentee's, basically saying 'Where the fuck were you?!'  
Zetsu's ability to move through the earth unfazed came in handy as he held her attacker in a choke hold, letting the white goo tighten around Kabuto's skin that led up to his neck, not allowing him to move a muscle similar to what he did with her earlier.

With a quick nod from her partner signifying his gesture for her to perform her memory stealing jutsu, she adjusted to do so willingly as she brought a hand to cover his startled eyes from under his glasses after executing the necessary seals.  
Eyes closing as she dived into his recent memories, stealing the ones most controversial to her when she comes across a recollection of a seemingly mundane interaction Kabuto had with the marked man Orochimaru.  
"I don't see it! ....I-it's not on him!" Akira's eyes opened as she exhaled a breathe in frustration.  
**"What are you talking about? We didn't come all this way for nothing.."**  
Black Zetsu angrily said while attempting to keep his cool and releasing the cynical shinobi from his grip.  
Her hand lowered to her side after temporarily blinding her attacker so he couldn't retaliate. It was unlikely for him to do so anyway -- he was unable to move or see and the only thing he could hear were two stranger's voices that he couldn't even remember thanks to Akira's jutsu.  
You could most definitely say he was dazed and confused.  
"Just let me try again. I'm sure there's something I'm missing.." She trailed off bringing her hand to cover his eyes once again to perform the technique but a sharp pain racked against her skull as she did so.  
She instantly winced at the searing pain that ravaged her temples, attempting to ignore and concentrate on the vital piece of information that flashed before her closed lids.

_"No, you're sick, I can't allow you to do it yourself, Lord Orochimaru."_

Akira observed the memory that played out like it was her own while her partner's brow furrowed in concern at her scrunched features that displayed her pain.  
She visibly gritted her teeth, forcing herself to continue despite the sharp pangs that stabbed her right eye, exemplifying her suffering.

  
_"Kabuto, you treat me as if I'm a dying man..." He humorously said while he lay bed-ridden before hacking violently in front of his partner in crime._  
He wheezed as Kabuto firmly pressed a hand to his chest, making him relax even further against the soft sheets before he went to pick up a wooden tray set across from his bed.  
"I understand you don't plan on remaining like this for long, but if you wish to hold out in this form than you can't over exert yourself... So,"  
Kabuto paused before finishing his sentence, taking the empty glass that sat on the nightstand and setting it on the tray while giving the man he respected a warm smile.  
"with that being said,"  
Moving swiftly to the door and pushing his back against it to open it with just a little force he continued,  
"you're gonna have to swallow your pride and let me get that medicine for you."

The viewing of memories itself went by slower inside her mind than it did in real life, making it seem like she was reliving someone else's memories in real time, but in actuality the whole technique would usually only take a few seconds.

_*Plop!*_

Warm blood seeped from her right eye that stored the recollections of memories as its crimson hue trailed down her cheek and tapered off her chin to drop onto the cold floor.  
Zetsu watched with concern unsure if he should stop her or not. A part of him refused to do so because of his curious nature to continue watching the spectacle with interest.  
"Akira..." His white counterpart said quietly as the utterance came out more as a question than a demand for her attention from his fluctuated tone, wondering if she could actually hear him through her intense concentration.  
Her teeth cricked from the intense grinding as she didn't respond at all to his attempt to warn her while she kept her eyes squeezed shut, resulting in more of the vermillion liquid to plummet from her waterline and coat her face and floor with its copper fragrance.  
'There has to something I'm missing.' Akira thought while continuing to observe the memories through Kabuto's eyes despite the excruciating pain in her temples and eye that made her whimper out in agony.

  
_"Let's see here..."_  
After a long walk through various hallways, Kabuto made his way into a room that looked similar to a laboratory filled with strange anomalies that ranged from disclosed viles that varied in color to 'trophies' and memorabilia that she presumed was from other shinobi they encountered.  
He set the tray down on a cluttered counter top, grabbing a said vile and pouring it into the empty glass.  
"Now where is it..?" Kabuto mumbled looking for something in particular as he looked around the counter for it.  
Akira spotted something that caught her eye that seemed to be a severed hand in a jar that held some sort of preservative to keep the limb fresh. Upon its pinkie finger, a familiar accessory was worn.

 

"The ring!" She excitedly said referencing the breakthrough.  
Her eyes immediately opened as she let her hand drop back down to her sides and dropping to her knees from over exhaustion of her chakra.  
"K-kami!" Zetsu managed to exclaim through his surprise.  
He gave her a mortified look making her completely confused as to why he was gaping at her face.  
"...What?" She asked lifting an eyebrow and rubbing her temples from the continuous pain that was ever so slowly receding.  
He cringed making his way to her. "Your eye! I-it's -- **It's disgusting**."   
His darker side interrupted him. His blunt words furthering her perplexed state of mind as she decided to see for herself bringing a hand up to finger the blood that drenched her cheek.  
Shock numbed her senses upon viewing the rose colored fluid that coated her index and middle finger.  
She was unable to find anything to say causing a surprised gasp to emit from her cherry lips before looking up at her partner's 5'10" looming figure with his hand gripping her bicep, pulling her up from her kneeling position.  
**"...Are you okay?** " She was surprised to hear it come from the more negative one but somewhat endeared to find him a little concerned from her given appearance.  
"I-I'm.. fine... or atleast I think so." She said wincing at the wave of pain that stung her eye, making it water while it mixed in with the blood surrounding her irritated waterline.  
"Your entire eye is red! I think you should take it easy on any type of jutsu involving it. I have to admit though, it was pretty interesting to watch."  
He said grimacing at the view of her blood stained orb.  
It was indeed red. Not the iris, but instead the whites of her eye were _completely_ crimson, giving it a painful looking appearance.  
"I hope I didn't injure it." She muttered lifting her forearm up to wipe her cheek against the sleeve of her Akatsuki sleeve.  
Zetsu noticed the futile attempt to wipe the side of her face due to the sleek fabric similar to a rain jackets that instead ended up smearing the blood against her cheek.  
He immediately fished out a piece of cloth hidden away inside his cloak and handed it to her courteously.  
Her eyes lit up at his unexpected kind gesture.  
"Arigato."  
She took it, wiping her face vigorously as he watched her do so.  
"I believe I found the whereabouts of the ring. It's somewhere here in the hideout. I should be able to navigate us to its location I think."  
Her eyebrows raised while giving him a questioning look.  
"Did I get it all?" She asked referencing if she wiped it all off or not.  
He shook his head no while pointing to a few spots on her face.  
She sighed in frustration while lifting the previously white cloth upwards and gesturing for him to take it.  
"Here, you do it." She said casually.  
He gave her quizzical look with the space between his eyebrows creasing in uncertainty.  
She seemed awfully comfortable with his proximity for some reason.  
It perplexed him to find her so relaxed around him. Most people were too frightened to even talk to him, let alone let him touch them.  
So once again she caught him off guard with the demand as he hesitantly took the smooth rag and watched her tilt her face upwards and to the side for him to get a better look.  
"O-okay.." He nervously mumbled, unwilling to confess the reason why he wanted to refuse.  
White fingers smoothed the fabric along her jawline tentatively, bringing a black hand to cradle her chin to keep her from moving under his ministrations.  
His eyes scanned over the beautiful unblemished skin before him, marveling at its luminous texture despite it being slightly stained.  
A noticeable blush littered his cheek while realizing he was ogling her beauty, feeling embarrassed by being allowed to indulge in the petty intimacy.  
He eased the cloth under her eye, rubbing the splotches away under her dark thick set of lashes that made him even more flustered.  
She smiled and nodded towards him in gratitude after releasing his hold on her.  
He quickly avoided her intense gaze in attempt to calm his beating heart.  
"We should get going, I think it's somewhere in this direction if I remember correctly.."  
She said picking her kunai up off the ground that she previously threw in fear, regretting the earlier action from how reckless she discarded the precious item.

 **"We need to deal with him first."** Black Zetsu said gesturing towards the delirious male that was still being held captive by the white mold.

 **"It shouldn't be any trouble disposing of him like this."** He moved to grab his head, getting ready to snap his neck and be done with him.  
"W-wait just a minute! We don't have to kill him!" She frantically exclaimed making her way to him and seizing his wrist. "Eh? You gotta ' _thing'_ for him?" White Zetsu teased with a playful smirk.  
She frowned giving him an annoyed look. "Don't be stupid. I just don't see the reason to murder him. Sure he tried to kill me, but I don't know if I wanna result to something like that unless I have to." She admitted.  
He scoffed then shrugged his shoulders. "I guess if you feel so strongly about it, I don't see why not... **Don't make me regret this, little girl.** " His black side threatened, releasing his hold on the man.  
She let go of his wrist and jabbed her knuckles into the side of Kabuto's temple, causing his temporary blind eyes to shut as he seeped into the grips of unconsciousness.  
The white mold cracked and scattered to the floor while disappearing into the earth as though it was never there in the first place.

_*Thud!*_

Kabuto's body fell to the floor lifelessly, leaving him helpless to the two Akatsuki.  
"Let's go!" She said ignoring the pain in her skull and quickly trotted off into a decided direction.  
"Huh? Hey! W-Wait up!" He swiftly followed after her, hoping she was right about her navigation.


	9. "Void"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite duo or er... trio have battled the worst that could probably happen during Akira's first mission. Getting lost again could result in a helpless confession or a new plan in mind, but with Akira's help she just might be able to get this mission to finally come to a conclusion!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand this chapt is SHORT and I feel so shitty about it but I honestly wanted this mission to finish up so I could write about other characters too. not that I don't love the "schizophrenic" Akatsuki, it's just I want a mission or situation with everyone hopefully because that would be fun to write and bc everyone deserves some fluff or more. Who knows! Ok anyway after this chapter there will probably be a short time skip. Btw why do I have like 0 kudos lmao show me some love (I know I suck.)

                                         "You don't know where we're going, do you?"  
She panicked as soon as her partner said that, not like it wasn't creeping up on her already with every randomized turn they took, but hearing him verify the situation just made it a whole lot worse.  
"Well, umm.." She looked left and right at the fork in their path while bringing her index finger up to her bottom lip to rest it in a dumbfounded fashion.

 " **You idiot...** ..I knew it!" Her partner's separate emotions conflicted her own, unsure how to react.  
Despite one being angry with her navigation, and the other happy to have been right about his calculations, they had something in common at the moment and that was wondering how the hell they were gonna get out of there.  
"I just _knew_ you were hiding something! That last turn was just a guess, wasn't it!"  
White Zetsu triumphantly said, resting a hand on his hip.  
**"How could you get us lost? Can't you just review the memory again?"**  
Black Zetsu grumbled.  
She frowned completely frustrated with the whole situation. Not only was she lost in an unnavigable maze, she was lost with two opinionated opposites that didn't seem too happy with her performance and we're giving her an accusatory glance that made her even more frazzled.  
"Hey! W-wait one moment! Everything looks the same so I wouldn't even know if I passed it already. Besides I'm unsure if I should use it again.." She rested her right hand over the blood shot eye, closing it from the throbbing pain that seemed to pulse through it with every thump of her rapid heartbeat.  
"..I'm scared I'll hurt it even worse..." She murmured while fixing her gaze to the floor sheepishly.

 **"Read it and weep."** He dead panned, the waxen side made an offended face disliking his rude behavior but kept quiet otherwise.  
**"I don't plan on staying here and rotting, so if you're unable to use that eye of yours then were going to have to split up."**  
Her frown deepened at his words. "What! You can't leave me! I won't be able to find you again." She said frantically pleading with him with confused wide eyes.  
His black fingers unclipped the sleek black cloak that hid his discolored figure from view and letting the plant like extremity subside somewhere into his chest.  
**"That's why I'm sending him with you."** He rasped while letting the cloak drop to the floor with a scraping sound, revealing toned muscles that divided into two colors.  
To say she wasn't the least bit interested to observe them 'split' apart was a lie.  
She recollected back to when she watched them fuse together while finding herself ogling him intensely with curiosity.  
His brow furrowed in concentration before hearing an audible cracking sound emitting from the skin that now stretched and broke apart to split the two into separate individuals.  
It was a complete 'oooo!' moment for the fascinated kunoichi as she watched the white goo fill in the necessary spaces that made them mobile like their arm and leg.

 **"We don't have to communicate in person to find each other...** So this should save you some trouble." His more positive accomplice finished for him.  
She thanked God she wasn't getting stuck with Black Zetsu, but it seemed like he was thinking the same thing too.  
**"I work better alone anyway."** And on that note he swept up the discarded Akatsuki cloak, swung it over his shoulder and headed towards the left path before merging into the wall, leaving her alone with the pale colored male.  
"Yosh! Let's get moving then!" He said flashing a toothy grin while propping a hand on his hip and briefly throwing a fist into the air with the other.

"I'm sorry..." Akira's tone of voice contradicted his as it bordered a bit of uncertainty.  
"Eh?" He eyed her form taking in how she rested her forearm against her chest and gripped its collar under slightly trembling fingers. She was clearly upset about something.  
"What's the matter?" He asked confused, unable to catch any eye contact from her downcast eyes.  
"I'm not helping at all, am I? I can't even figure out where we need to go without some sort of problem.."  
The tip of her foot made pointless circles into the floor mindlessly as she let a small frown grace her conflicted face.  
His enthusiasm instantly changed to nervousness, finding himself unsure what to say or do as he shuffled on his feet while thinking of a response.  
He didn't expect her to become so affected by his darker equivalent's words.  
True, he was a little harsh about it but he had somehow grown a bit more accustomed to it day by day, so maybe it just conflicted her because she wasn't use to.  
Her emotional personality was something so new to him that he just kept quiet and waited for her to figure it out herself.  
"I feel like such an idiot.. maybe if I focused more on my chakra usage I wouldn't have found myself in this predicament." She said sulking.  
He didn't think it was her fault at all actually, unlike his peer he believed she handled herself pretty well dealing with the enemy.  
That sparked an idea for him!  
"What are you talking about, you did fine." He said reassuringly while cracking a cheesy smile.  
"Huh?" She looked up at him as her moping was disrupted by his thoughtful comment.  
"Not only did you handle that little pest from earlier, you actually led us right to him! Just as according to plan." He slyly confessed with a wink.  
"What do you mean 'according to plan'?" Confusion lacing her tone.  
He shrugged "Well I guess you could say sooner or later the enemy was going to find us, or atleast lurk about... so what are the odds of dropping in on them accidentally when your chakra signature isn't even masked?" He grinned even wider watching the dawning of realization hit her as her mouth gaped slightly.  
"I-It was a setup? But I asked if you had a plan of some kind!" She managed.  
"I lied." He stated simply.  
Was he trying to say he had faith in her in some weird way, and that he honestly believed she would come out on top despite not knowing how powerful the enemy was at the time?  
The confession itself eased the self loathing thoughts and warmed her heart with the endearment.  
"You know, it doesn't matter how little or tedious the task is, I think what really matters is that someone believes in you. Even if it's just a little... So, thank you!"  
She explained while nodding her head in gratitude with a warm smile.  
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "You can count on me." He quietly said unsure on how he should take the comment.

 

"This looks awfully familiar... I think we actually might be going the right way!"  
She seized Zetsu's bicep, comically jerking him backwards and stopping him from his running that they hadn't ceased for a solid 15 minutes.  
"You mean this is it?" He asked looking around the hallway, viewing its numerous doors.  
"It has to be." She pointed towards the end of a corridor. "If I remember correctly then that's the way he came from Orochimaru's study.. So.." She looked back and forth between two opposite pathways that intersected the hall. "It should be one of these, but I know we're close. There's no denying that!"  
He quirked an eyebrow, "Then which one is it?" He asked doubting if she really knew.  
"Uh, I think..." She really couldn't remember which one, they both had simple uncanny appearances and there was no way she was going to figure out which was the right one just by a guess.  
"Ugh!" She let out a noise of pure frustration. If she guessed the wrong one then there's no doubt they'd be running for another 15 minutes and even more lost then they were before down the sharp winding turns of the puzzling lair.  
"That's it! I'm just going to have to use it!" She said totally fed up with the situation  
Her hands lifted up, putting her index and middle fingers together and clasping the rest of her dried blood stained fingers.  
"Woah! Hold up! Don't you think that's a bad idea..? I mean your eye already looks pretty... er.. _injured_.."  He said choosing his words carefully and grimacing slightly at its disfigured appearance.  
"I can't afford us getting lost again. We're too close to getting out of here soon."  
She stubbornly retorted, resuming the flow of chakra through her abdomen and concentrating it into her bloodshot eye.  
"Release." She quietly muttered feeling the surge of energy release in waves behind her closed lids and disperse into a recent memory. Her hand immediately gripped the side of her head from the searing pain that felt like it was splitting her skull in two with each passing second.  
Her partner grimaced to a point his slightly gapped teeth were in view while wincing at the painful looking spectacle. If she didn't stop anytime soon he was _sure_ her eye was going to pop out of socket. _Ew_.   
She exhaled a strained breathe after opening her eye. "..Okay..." Her voice slightly hoarse while she pointed towards one of the corridors with trembling fingers.  
"..It's that one." She said ignoring the small trail of blood that seeped from her waterline. "Are you alright..?"  
She gave him an indescribable look while masking the suffering the best she could.  
"I'm fine." She said walking past him. He shrugged it off and followed after her.

"Ugh! It won't open!" She said pulling on the locked door the best she could, but it didn't seem budge no matter how hard she gripped it.  
She contemplated breaking it down but was interrupted after a forearm wrapped around her waist and pulling her into a lean form.  
"Leave that to me!" The unusual recognizable voice of her partner coerced her to relax against him as he planted himself against the wooden door, slipping through the solid oak slowly and smoothly coming out from the other side of it.

The identifiable blue glow of the lab triggered a spark of recognition in the injured female, with the room itself containing familiar oddities and trophies like she remembered.  
It was considered a _goldmine_ of research for Zetsu.  
He immediately let a noise of fascination escape his lips that just so happened to be close to the side of her head, as his warm breath tickled the shell of her ear she shuddered and shifted out of his uncomfortable grasp.  
"Come on, we need to find that ring." She briskly took a few steps in the dimly lit room before feeling a spark of excruciating pain surge through her skull and redirect itself to her eye once more.  
"Ah!" She promptly cried out in a pathetic whimper.  
Instantly her hand shot up to press her slightly calloused palm against the pulsating lid, hoping to relieve some of the suffering with some pressure.  
"..Eh? What's going on?" He quickly rushed to her side with a gentle hand resting on her shoulder. "Ugh.. Kami..." His tone holding disgust and hesitancy from getting a look at her now bruised eye when she slowly retracted her hand from the battered looking skin.  
The sensitive skin around the orb began to darken in color, which varied in a faint blue to a vague rosy color and began to swell slightly due to its irritation. It definitely wasn't a pleasant sight.  
"..It just won't stop..." She managed to whine out quietly through untimely breathes.  
It was unlike him to give words of encouragement, but witnessing his comrade crumble in agony made him sympathetic towards her suffering. Unlike his counterpart, who's belief that if you aren't dead you're fine.. he couldn't help but feel some kind of obligation to help fix it, even though he felt out of place during the whole thing.  
He backed away from the whimpering female and anxiously ruffled his hair, unsure what to do with himself until a certain antiquity caught his eye that sparked an idea within him.  
She studied the palm of her hand like it was interesting trying to focus on anything but the pain as she listened in on her partner's shuffling around the room.

 

_"Boo!"_

She remained unfazed despite the small grin she couldn't stop cracking while observing the surprise before her.  
He shook the creepy mask comically that undoubtedly probably belonged to a former shinobi suggesting from its paint.  
"Where did you get that?" She asked with a slight giggle.  
He untied the festive looking mask from his face and revealed a childish smirk.  
"I found it." He moves to stand in front of her once again, lifting the mask above her head and begins tying the string from the back of it once it sits snugly over her face.  
"Here, you try it on."  
Her attention immediately switched to the mask after he finished fitting it to her face correctly.  
"Do I look intimidating?" She asked playfully.  
He laughed like a goof and replied, "You think that's scary? Look what I can do.."  
He brought his index finger up to the disfigured part of his face and abruptly pulled on the corner of his mouth roughly.  
With the force of the tug it began to showcase a slit that ran up the side of his face and ended somewhere in his hairline.  
With another tug the line of skin split all the way up his head, literally almost splitting his skull open.  
"..W-What the hell!" Akira yelped stumbling backwards and colliding into a counter, her hands braced behind her to catch the fall gracefully, but instead they bumped into something cold and round, causing it to react to the chain of events and slip off the counter.

_*Crash!*_

Glass connected with the stone floor, shattering into microscopic pieces and releasing the waves of liquid inside of it. "Oh!" She let out a small sound of surprise after pulling around the corner of the counter and noticing the shine of a slate blue accessory adorned by the severed hand that laid limply on the ground.

"Ohh.. I remember this ol' thing." Zetsu mused interrupting her initial shock.  
He picks up the wet limb with two fingers, carefully lifting it into the air.  
_"Ew!"_ She backed up from the disgusting sight, and eyed it curiously.  
He slowly tugged on the ring, pulling it off the hand before dropping the extremity to the floor with a wet thud.  
"I'm glad to see it's still in perfect condition.." He rested a hand on his chin while ogling the ring intensively.  
Loosening the string of the mask, she let it hang from her neck.  
"What does it say..?" She asked standing on her tippy-toes while peering over his shoulder and observing the engraved kanji on it the best she could.  
"Void.." He replied turning around and grabbing her left hand and sliding it on her pinkie finger in one smooth action.  
He let go as she wiggled her fingers in admiration, enjoying the new feeling of verification that she was _now_ indeed Akatsuki..


	10. The Agenda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira is now back at base and relaxing comfortably, but with new information coming to light about the kunoichi, her partner can now finally confirm her future involvement to their secret agenda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to publish this chapter. I actually meant for this entire thing to be just a few paragraphs long, and was planning on writing more of the Akatsuki members but woops I somehow ended up making this into its own entire chapter. Lol

       Newly painted nails smoothed over fresh damp soil, reveling in its texture with the pads of her dainty fingers.

Akira hardly had times like this, where she could release most of her stress with every inhale she took of the slightly humid greenhouse.  
She was beginning to warm up to the feeling of having no obligations whatsoever nagging her at the time.  
It was definitely something she wasn't use to. She would usually find herself staving off the chill of winter's breeze within long forgotten settlements, clutching her hefty cloak closer to her in a futile attempt to stay warm and maybe, just _maybe_ , be able to get a lick of sleep that night.  
Lady Luck could be a bit of a bitch at times, well so shes found.. The only times she took solace in fortune was when strangers would look the other way out of fear of the menacing glint of her katana when she requested a room at some random inn bordering somewhere between the Hidden Grass and Waterfall.  
Or like the moment others didn't notice the heavily cloaked kunoichi making her way through rural rice fields, and tipping her Kasa even lower to avoid scuffles with wanna-be bounty hunters with keen eyes.  
It was _ritualistic_ for her to be constantly on the move when she was known as an outcast to the Hidden Rain and its neighboring villages and countries.  
Now that she's relaxing idly after a long mission that took place a few days prior, she could practically taste the small bit of freedom like it was warm honey tea she couldn't get enough of.. but yet it was still somehow a lonely experience despite having somewhere to come home to.  
Whenever she exhaled a breath she could still feel the heavy weight of bittersweet disappointment present on her chest.  
It had to be from realizing that the last time she felt like this was when she was an innocent pre-teen who was completely naïve to the world that surrounded her, and was utterly content with that fact.  
Akira kept believing the pleasentness she was feeling was rather selfish because she was finding the euphoric situation hard to accept and knew taking it for granted was wrong, but she didn't want to feel so alone about the whole thing.  
Like she was uncomfortable with the fact she was the only one getting these amazing feelings from such an insignificant luxury, but then she believed that if the events didn't unfold like they did that tragic winter night in her childhood home, then she could be experiencing this normality with the only man she loved.  
Again, it was bittersweet. Blame survivors guilt..

With her mind in a deep fog --like you would usually find the absentminded kunoichi -- she scanned over the cream colored buds of the plant with curiosity, enjoying its gentle mannerisms and aesthetic while still deep in thought.  
Instinctively her hand drew upwards to caress it delicately with her fingertips.  
"You know curiosity killed the cat, right?" A familiar voice warned before her ministrations could take place.  
Startled, she lowered her hand back down to her lap while turning towards the direction of the voice.  
An unimpressed smile soon made its way to her lips.  
"Of course, however didn't you ever hear satisfaction brought it back..?" She finished the rhyme whether the dichromatic male liked it or not while giving him a smug look.  
"I'm afraid satisfaction won't be much help with paralysis." Zetsu noted, slowly making his way towards the kneeling woman.

  
**"Conium Maculatum.."** Her eyebrow quirked with his words flying straight over her head.  
Crass thoughts filled her head with the urge to voice some of them that were along the lines of 'Are you speaking gibberish..?'

Noticing her confusion he clarified, **"Commonly known as Hemlock.."** His equivalent's baritone voice resonated as he gestured with an open palm towards the plant in front of the dumbfounded female.  
"O-oh! Right!" Feeling sort of embarrassed she nervously laughed and quickly stood from her sitting position as the ends of her cloak flapped from the abrupt movement and finally settled gracefully around her mid-calf.  
"I guess I just couldn't help myself from admiring your extensive garden." While she humbly admitted this, her aim was to flatter him as politely as she could muster and by the way his lips twitched into a small but pleased smile, she knew she had achieved just this.  
Not dropping his smile he silently motioned her to follow him.  
Taking the cue to do so, they turned around to a new row of lush greenery that could be described as something similar to a Ghibli film from how the vibrant colors of plants contrasted against the well lit underground greenhouse beautifully.  
He stopped abruptly almost making her collide into his back from how close she was following him.  
Her gaze followed his as it was met with dark green vines wrapped around some type of shrubbery.  
His ghostly white hand extended outwards to lay it flat on one of the twisted vines before a soft glow of green light encompassed his fingers. Ever so slowly pulling his hand away, a green stem rose up with each inching movement he made until his hand hovered above it, revealing a white chrysanthemum that languidly held its posture at the tip of the stem.  
Her eyes went wide from the astonishing ability causing her to marvel in the beauty of the flower before he quickly picked it from the stem.  
"Here. **We imagine this would be more pleasing to a female,** and not to mention it's significantly less dangerous." He said holding the flower before her while gesturing for her to take it.  
It was his way of saying thank you without actually having to say it.  
He found it harder day by day with her to not find himself flustered whenever the charming kunoichi teased him or graced him with her occasional flattery, so in return he was slowly finding creative ways to deal with it. Not that he didn't appreciate it, it was just because she brought out a different side to him that he hardly knew he had.  
Maybe it was because he's never directly interacted with someone particularly like her.. even despite being his age.  
Akira hesitantly took the flower and brought it to her nose, inhaling it's sweet fragrance with a light blush.  
Despite his flattery, she couldn't help but notice his ways of accumulating the differences between males and females causing her to become slightly puzzled. It was unusual to her for someone to base certain attributes, aesthetics, and the like, based on someone's biological gender, but then again it was probably because he normally didn't socialize with the opposite sex too often unless he was taking orders or it was just straight business.  
She could definitely see how he could fall back on these stereotypical facts of his from being put in a situation where his partner was indeed a woman.  
Though he doesn't doubt her strength as a shinobi because when it came down to being a skilled ninja, being male or female or anything someone was didn't evaluate your ability in combat. _Fact_.   
"It's beautiful.." Akira stated, bringing her forearm to her chest graciously with the flower still in grasp.  
"Chrysanthemums are said to be joy and perfection incarnate in some cultures, but in my opinion I like to believe they symbolize change due to their color variety. Such as their numerous in depth petals can be seen as a persons complexity and their ability to change even that." His comment seemed philosophical and well versed to where it caught her off guard.  
Zetsu looked down for a moment in thought. "..and they just happen to be one of my favorites." He admitted quietly like he was somewhat uncertain if he should be sharing such useless information.  
Naturally he wasn't the one to open up to people so easily, there really wasn't much of a reason to anyway.  
His mysteriousness was a long built up wall he kept maintained easily and spending his occasional free time with her for the past few days back at base was nonetheless enjoyable, but having his mystifying demeanor slowly chipped away by her made him slightly apprehensive about it all.  
"I can see why you like them so much." She said smiling sweetly.  
Looking up he noticed the contradiction in her facial expression.  
Despite the small smile the rest of her looked like she was upset about something with her upturned brow and diverted eyes.  
What was she hiding?  
"I can't help but confess that I'm actually a little jealous of it. What with the nature of my own inertia.." She shook her head, blinking a few times as if pushing the thoughts away and ending the sentence as it was, with no hope of continuing.  
She didn't want to bring up anything about her past in fear of reminiscing about the ghosts that still haunted her, but unbeknownst to him the earlier statements about his thoughts on the flower struck a chord within her in some way.

 

She brushed past him making her way to the setup that consisted of a few cherry wood tables, and other communal items that made the small enclosed area appear a bit more welcoming.  
"Anyway, you said you had something for me?" She asked changing the subject in a hurry as she stopped in front of the large stand that held mortar and pestles and related items of the like.  
"Ah! Yes! **This should help with any scarring you may have..** "  
His voice spooked her slightly. She didn't know he could move within a distance that fast without her hearing it, but then again he _was_ an S-rank criminal skilled in espionage.  
She eyed him curiously as he sifted through necessary clutter on one of the desks before carefully bringing a small glass jar into view.  
"I think this may be of cosmetic value to you."  
There he goes again with his assumptions. Not that it wasn't endearing but she couldn't help but crack a smile at his somehow thoughtful appropriation.

"And what makes you think I care about anything as petty as a scar!"  
And there _she_ goes again with her merciless teasing. Something she found she loved doing since being partnered up the bi-colored man.  
The tease did nothing for his naiveté as his brow furrowed while wondering how he offended her.  
Had he calculated wrong? He thought a woman with an undoubtedly _lovely_ appearance would care about these things...  

Did that make him vain?  
Did she think he was vain? Oh no.

 **"She's toying with you, idiot."** His other half deadpanned unamused.  
She chuckled watching the expression she loved so much change to one of relief in nearly an instant.  
"Really, I appreciate it, Senpai." She took the small jar that contained the strange colored salve and stuck it somewhere inside her cloak for safe keeping.  
"Though I really _hope_ this doesn't turn into scar.." She gestured towards the thin piece of stark white bandages that wrapped around her neck. "People might get the wrong idea and think somebody has a vendetta against me." She finished keeping the topic 'lighthearted' with a slight giggle. Lighthearted for her at least.  
He humored her with a snort and began to glimpse her face unabashedly.  
"How's the eye?"  
Believe it or not the question didn't catch Akira off guard. I mean she couldn't fucking _see_ out of it from all the bandages wrapped around it, so how could she forget that it was noticeable?  
She took on a more solemn expression, averting her visible eye from his.  
"I wouldn't really know, I haven't had the nerve to change the wrappings yet. Though it hasn't caused me any trouble so far, so I suppose it's gotten better."  
She answered bringing her hand up to idly finger the white eye patch that was held together only by a few wraps of bandages.  
"It seems unlike you to be afraid of a little blood." He curiously inquired, quirking a brow.  
She delicately twiddled the stem of the fragile chrysanthemum in thought.  
"It's not that.. it's just... I'm a bit nervous to see what kind of damage I've done to it."  
She truthfully admitted. "...I understand." He said after a brief pause between the two, beginning to mentally grimace at the thought of how it basically looked demolished days before their arrival back to the Akatsuki base.  
Lifting her gaze from the ground -- that she found so interesting at the time -- she noticed the large array of books scattered and stacked upon each other on the table beside him.  
"No wonder you know so much about botany. You got enough books here to possibly put the Suna's library to shame!" She said making her way to one of the open paged books, skimming her fingers over the worn paper that's probably seen better days.  
He didn't know if he should of taken that as a compliment or not, but nonetheless he effortlessly peered over her shoulder to ogle the book she was looking at.  
He made a hum sounding something like discontent, "I wish I could say most of this was easy, however," His unnaturally pale index finger made contact with an image of a small tree on the piece of paper. "some of these things I'm unable to recreate, such as this." He finished with a disappointed tone to his voice.  
Her eyes took note of the shrubbery that was illustrated in ink, feeling a new sense of confidence surge through her.  
It was actually quite beautiful with it's pink petals that were something similar to a Sakura tree, and it's short stature that was slightly bigger than a well taken care of bonsai.  
"And why's that?" Akira asked with a smirk beginning to break across her lips.  
"Well unfortunately they take ages to grow, and not only that but their seeds are something of a rarity.."  
After listening to him speak she put on a more determined look and picked up the book with one hand, memorizing the formation of the small sapling the best she could.  
"Let's see here.. it doesn't look _that_ difficult.." She mused quietly while setting the book aside to lay the flower down on the stand gently and lift both hands up.  
**"What's this?"** He eyed her suspiciously while she turned to a clear spot and performed complex hand seals that practically burned from chakra vitality.  
The few days at base have really amped her reserves up, and she was really feeling it now that she finished them. It bubbled under her fingers from all the way to her elbows, making her feel like it was nothing short of invigorating.

"Mokuton: Mōrudo no jutsu."

 

Instead of slamming her hands onto the dirt floor below her like any normal, ferocious, and prideful shinobi would do to boastfully exhibit their undoubtedly interesting jutsu, she took her time to lay them gently on the soft soil that dusted up slightly from the compressed air that released finally from under her extended, flattened, fingers.  
Dark tree roots eagerly sprang up from the earth before them, ripping the small plot of earth apart and eventually twisting beautifully into the desired shape she wished for.  
Zetsu watched transfixed by the fascinating spectacle before him while finding his breath faulted briefly before letting out wispfully: "..So it's true then.."  
She didn't quite catch his words while she kept her pose and focused her chakra on providing any resemblances she was missing, such as the vaguely pigmented pink petals that bursted to life as she ran a surge of eager chakra through the small branches.

 

So Madara had been right about her. Zetsu felt foolish to doubt this woman's lineage and presume that her blood line was probably some sort of half breed Uzumaki at best, due to her knowledgable comprehension of seals and releasing prominent genjutsu at will.  
However, he was proved terribly wrong as soon as he sensed her riveting amount of chakra reserves pricking at the sensitive exposed skin on his face like tiny pinpricks.  
Even once she relaxed after rising back up from her kneeling position he could still feel the radiating chakra reacting to her Kekkei Genkai as though it was patiently waiting dormant for her to display the unintentionally significant power.  
At that moment Zetsu realized Akira was more than capable use to Madara and their agenda for the world.

Despite his hesitance to admit it, he couldn't deny the fact that she was indeed essential and with great surprise to both parties inhabiting his body it was shocking to find out this way that - "She really is.. Senju..." He whispered to himself, unwillingly voicing his finishing thoughts.

 

"I think that's about right." She mused while taking the book into her hand to scan over the illustration again to critique her own work. "Though I'm unsure if the petals are correct 'cause it says here it's rather uncommon for there to be so many of them."  
A disappointed hum reverberated from her throat shortly before setting the book down.  
"Oh well, 'suppose I'll just have to try again." She clasped her hands together once more, readying to fix her mistake without a moments notice.  
"N-no!" He quickly lowered her hands with one of his.  
With her look of confusion from his uncharacteristically raised voice, he felt obligated to explain himself in a more gentler tone.. Well, with a little white lie that is..  
**"No, that isn't necessary.** This is a perfect specimen actually. I really don't think it would be right for you to trouble yourself over something like this, but thank you." He attempted to elucidate curtly.  
His coverup was surprisingly believable, but his intense eye contact and serious aura contradicted his casual excuse which made her somewhat weary of his intentions. Though she had no clue of what his _true_ intentions were.  
"Oh.. sorry, I guess I can be quite the perfectionist at times, can't I?" She said striving to kill some of the tension that accumulated from his analytical stare down.

Zetsu honestly didn't want her exuberant chakra to be anymore noticeable than it was.  
He may be exceptionally sensitive to its residual energy, but it was nevertheless prominent amongst the underground greenhouse, and he was hoping anybody on the upper floors of the hideout didn't regard the slightly stuffy atmosphere that surely would put a notice on any S-rank missing nin's radar.

His brief silence unnerved her as she waited for him to say something while fidgeting under his seemingly interested gaze.  
He finally averted his eyes to view the result of her jutsu, eyeing the small bonsai lookalike with a hint of fascination. " **Constantly seeking perfection can be seen as a flaw,** although I'm confident if you keep that attitude of yours then you can master something as difficult as wood release." He finally commented, choosing his words carefully.  
She rubbed the back of neck modestly with a small smile.  
If she didn't know any better she would of thought he was complimenting her.  
"You may be right, but I'm still having a hard time controlling my chakra no matter how much I nitpick myself." She confessed, confiding in the dichromatic male.

She wasn't ignorant, she could feel the way her chakra blazed from under her skin and beckoned for release, but even with it seething in irritation from her recent underuse of it, she didn't think it was a good time to exhibit anymore of her power for the time being.  
Maybe later Kisame might come back from his mission with Itachi and she can take him up on his offer to spar, but for right now she didn't plan on wastefully exerting herself.

"For some reason that usually seems to be a problem among people with potentiality, but it can be easily retained with the right training perhaps. **It would be a shame if you were to let that type of power go to waste..** "  
He held a mischievous glint to his eye as he made contact with hers.  
"What are you getting at..?" She asked suspicious of his new behavior.  
He turned away and backed up from her to languidly close the book she left lazily sitting on his desk.  
"What I'm trying to say is that I'm here for a reason."

"Lemme guess, chakra control just so happens to be your forte?" She asked.

"Precisely."

" _And_ you want to train me.. correct?" She was beginning to get a bit excited about the idea of taming the ferocious tides of chakra that surged within her veins like a searing hot fire. She could thank her Senju lineage for that.

He nodded in affirmation as the corner of his lips twitched into a smirk, solidifying his notion.  
If she happened to agree, not only would he be able to gain more intel about her prowess, but maybe even physically condition her to his advantage.  
A sudden feeling of anticipation enveloped Zetsu as he looked forward to relaying this information, along with the confirmation of her bloodline.

 

Akira took small steps towards him, only to stop and caress the lonely chrysanthemum left abandoned on the desk in front of him.  
Without much thought she finally answered.  
"So, when do we start?"


	11. Seventh Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira experiences a painfully emotional episode that is somehow tied to her 'ocular ability'! Later on she convinces herself it's from being cooped up inside the base, which results in asking a particular Akatsuki member to accompany her with her departure from the hideout for the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> believe it or not as you read further into this chapter you will realize that I am ready to sin (wink wonk) arigato Satan Senpai slight fluff and NSFW  
> Btw sorry if it took me forever to write this chapter!! I abandoned it for a bit and finally came back to it but that really helped me with some ideas for the story! Yay!  
> Fun fact:  
> Akira is a common Japanese name that means "Bright" or "Clear" and is typically used for boys despite it being unisex! Now you can see the relevancy between her name and her jutsu!
> 
> (✿◠◡◠) Feel free to leave kudos or a comment! ☆(❁◡❁)☆

_*THUD!*_

 

The defeated unamed shinobi's back slammed into the wooden floor with an unintelligible "Gack!" sputtering from his bloody lips.

Akira's gloved fingers tightened around the hilt of her katana with the leather audibly flexing as she forcefully yanked the deadly steel out of the ANBU's ribcage.  
He gurgled and choked on his own blood as he fearfully watched the young kunoichi flick her blade, witnessing the crimson splat onto the other few lifeless ANBU that lay vanquished near him.

Without a second glance, the young teen pushed open the double doors to reveal the clan's dojo.  
It's high ceiling exaggerated the wide open spaced room with the indoor twin Sakura trees that contrasted surrealistically against the setting afternoon sunlight that peered through the shōji doors that were left ajar.

The lethargic beauty of the room was something a well respected artist could only dream of with its genius minimalistic theme and would make anyone awe stricken from its dreamy allure.

Too bad it was a soon to be graveyard.

Akira's footsteps resounded against the newly polished wood. Her mind quiet despite her objective to find the _disgusting_ treacherous rat that put her in this state of dormant bloodlust.

It was a whole new ballgame for her.  
The adrenaline of being forced to kill a comrade under the command of a squad captain in threat of secrecy, couldn't even compare to the suspension of maiming the man who took her world away.  
The intensity of witnessing the life from her trusted teammate's eyes slowly slipping away with her kunai impaling their windpipe, and their warm blood splattering onto her face with each strangled and choked breath they took couldn't.  
And finally the heightened sensation of anticipation consuming her before sliding open the shōji to reveal Kurou's fate couldn't compare either.  
No, this feeling was almost indescribable.  
The revving feelings of fury, grief, guilt, suspense, and denial were charging through her veins like fire, but something in her was keeping the beast calm.

"I'm not gonna lie and say that outfit suits you, but it _does_ add somewhat of a twist to the situation."  
He must be referencing the standard ANBU uniform she wore that she took from an unwilling shinobi. She didn't think if it was necessary or not to kill the woman, but it _was_ necessary to get the uniform to successfully infiltrate the clan's grounds without being noticed. As you can guess that went terribly wrong from the bodies scattered about in the prior rooms, but perhaps you can say that was necessary too.  
Well, for revenge, that is..  
She didn't think twice about Tenma's comment, instead Akira immediately ceased in her slow steps, stopping in the middle of the room while scanning the area for the origin of his voice.  
The arm wielding the katana that relaxed by her side gripped even tighter with the echoing steps that resounded from the shadows from which he hid.  
"Wearing the threads of your enemy despite not knowing you'll meet the same fate they did for you to get them. Ironic, isn't it?"  
She didn't have to bite her tongue to stop herself from snapping at his condescending 'insults'.  
Instead her head began to buzz like it was humming inside the confines of her flesh while she remained silent even when he emerged from the shadows and revealed the smirk that showcased his intentions.  
"Surprised?" He inquired lightheartedly.  
The person she trusted and befriended wasn't the same man who stood before her.  
Yes, his undoubtedly charming appearance and mannerisms were still the same, but it was the light in which she saw him. Now finally getting to see him again he wasn't the friend she tearfully confided in when a boy didn't reciprocate her feelings, or the comrade she looked up to when he unselfishly put his life on the line to save her ass during an A-ranked mission.  
He was the two-faced, backstabbing, traitor that condemned her to an ocean of hate and despair that she was slowly drowning in.  
Tenma definitely wasn't the same person she knew, but neither was she.

 

Noticing her _furious_ glare that could probably kill a man with just one look, he did something unexpected. He laughed.  
"You have every right to be angry... Hell, you even got the right to kill me! However, you're still ignorant to what you _really_ should be upset about." He stated hoping to catch her intrigue but failed miserably once regarding that her glare only intensified.

Akira didn't give a damn about what he had to say. She knew all too well the man before her had a way with words. What with his honeyed tongue that complimented his soothing voice, and his logical clarity that made the most stubborn shinobi listen up.  
Even so, it was a completely different experience this time around. All she could hear was the voice used for her deception, and his immoral excuses to believe he had all the reason to betray her. Perhaps hatred could make you blind, but that didn't matter.  
All she cared for at the moment was to hear him admit it as he writhed in agony at her blade piercing his stomach in the most tortuous way.  
"Come on! Aren't you the least bit curious as to what I have to say? What happened to the tenacious young girl I knew who would use to _shake_ with anticipation at the mention of some juicy gossip, hmm?" He said setting the tantalizing bait with a nice red bow, even if he saw how she didn't react to his quite melodramatic comment.

"She's dead." Akira answered with her tone completely calm and self assured.

"And soon you will be too." She finished with a threat.  
He frowned upon finding his teasing words drawing out the wrong emotion he intended for but instead replied.  
"Oh come on! I know she's in there somewh-"  
As soon as the words escaped his lips she flung herself towards him with a snarl, letting the chakra flow into her legs and propelling them straight ahead with lightening fast speed.  
Her arm swung backwards, readying the blade to fling forward so it would collide into him.  
Finally sharp steel rocketed itself through the air making contact with --

 

_*Slam!*_

 

Akira's palms smashed into the top of the dresser inelegantly, causing the wood to jolt loudly into the wall behind it.  
She huffed in fustration, catching her reflection in her bedroom mirror while attempting to steady her trembling fingers against the cedar in vain.  
Anger contorted her features fiercely as she seethed with untamed fury just like in the previous memory.  
She couldn't quite pinpoint the moment she blanked out and fell into the confines of reliving the so called nightmare that was her past. Though she figured it had to be somewhere between the time of returning to her room and hesitantly discarding the bandages around her injured right eye and attempting to redress it like Zetsu heavily implied her to do later right before she left.  
Now that she got a good look at herself from the worn dusty mirror, she could see she was somehow interrupted in the midst of rewrapping the gauze around her eye from how the fine white mesh slacked against her and only partially covered the bruised orb.

 

Her furious mental state was all too real as it reminded her of the ever present boiling hate that forced her to grip the sides of the small armoire even tighter, eventually turning her knuckles white from the increasing pressure.  
The intensity of the earlier recollection felt so authentic that she could practically feel the resistance of slamming her blade against Tenma's kunai as he blocked her attack effortlessly.  
It only infuriated her more from thinking how he had the audacity to fend off her _rightful_ attempts to end his poor, miserable, life right where he stood.  
Her grip on the dresser unexpectedly ceased, causing it to rock back and slam into the chipped white paint once again with a thump before she turned around in a fit of rage to pathetically grip the sides of her head in distress from the intolerable flooding thoughts of ripping the traitor limb from limb like she should have.

"N-no..." She managed to mutter through labored breathing while futilely trying to fight the relentless memories that seemed to spark before her eyes like fireworks with every clumsy step of her feet.  
Her legs slowly stumbled backwards, unwillingly making the pit behind her knee flex inwards when connecting against the wooden edge of her bed frame, causing her to collapse against the mattress and helplessly curl into the thick wool blanket with her lids shut tightly.

 

The quick bursts of mental images flashed before her squeezed lids, eventually resulting into dark static-like visuals of Kurou that gradually became more clear with each flip of her stomach.  
"You.. idiot... I need you, but you're never there.." She whimpered quietly against the sheet all the while holding in a tearless sob that threatened to escape her trembling pink lips with the clench of her jaw.  
The thought of acting on her confusion was quickly replaced with despair.  
Akira had no knowledge of the unrestrained chakra bursting under her skin to circulate around the wounded eye like a wildfire, but even through her memory induced haze she could sense something was terribly amiss with her sudden outburst and the missing time she experienced minutes before it.

Her eye burned with such fervent intensity she contemplated prying it open and scratching out the watery orb, but the relentless grip on her sheets denied this notion so it could writhe her fingers around the thick blanket and ball it around her fists in a desperate attempt to handle the psychical and emotional pain she was experiencing.  
Unknown to her, the memories she protectively stored within her eye began to meld into the recollections of her past like corrupted data, making it hard for her to differentiate the stolen memories from her own.

"Am I going.. insane?" Her voice muffled against the fluffy pillow that she smashed her face into, trying to calm herself down and elaborate the situation the best she could with her inflamed nerves.  
With each inhale and exhale of the smothering fabric the chaotic reminiscing slowly began to recede along with the pain, as she coaxed her shaking form to relax against the sheets more comfortably.

Now with a more clear mental state, her mind began to swim with recurring thoughts of an explanation for the melodramatic episode.  
Without a reasonable link to go on for the period she blanked out, there wasn't much the emotionally strained woman could do to put the pieces together.  
She would've been frustrated from not being able to get any closure about the incident, but she wasn't even able to summon the passion nor patience to _feel_ the exasperation.  
Giving up with a well deserved sigh, she craned her neck to lay the side of her face on the pillow and calm her frenzied panting.

 _'I just need some rest..'_ She thought wearily, letting her mind settle and calm along with her heartbeat.

She convinced herself to deal with the predicament later, for now the only thing on she expressed interest in was lying there and forgetting it even happened for the moment being.

 

\---------づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ -------

 

"K-Kuro-!"

 

Her cry stopped short from the realization of it being just another unnecessary dream as she swung her upper body away from the confines of the comforting blankets to an upright sitting position.  
Immediately her hand flung upwards to grip the right side of her face, massaging her temples from the sudden head rush that made her mind swim with delirium.  
The only thing she could think in her state of frenzied drowsiness was his face.  
The same face that stubbornly clung to life to choke out his final confessions pathetically before the curtains of passing fell upon him.

She shook her head as if to push away the terrible thoughts and maneuvered her weight to her legs, forcing herself to get up and meander aimlessly towards the mirror.  
Noticing the wrapping of bandages that came off and exposed her eye, probably sometime during the night, she tiredly sighed as a sign of giving up on redressing it altogether _._

 _'I'm sure it won't be too noticeable..'_ She lethargically thought while leaning over the dresser to get a better look at it.

"...What the hell?"

She brought her hand up to push slightly on the lids of her eye and ogle the new found cloudiness that whitened the dark pupil like cataracts.  
It was so faint and hardly noticeable that you could only see it if you were looking for it, but nonetheless she fretted over the anomaly.  
She pulled back from her reflection and pushed backwards to sit on her bed with her hands clasping the sides of her head once again while feeling a new wave of confusion wash over her that was almost as bad as last night.

_'I have got to be going crazy or something..'_

The recent episode most definitely put a dampen on her attitude for today, but she wasn't in the mood to investigate its origin, but more importantly just _how_ would she investigate something like this?

 _'I gotta get out this fuckin' base.'_ She thought in frustration, thinking her head would clear up once she was able to breathe in the scent of the fresh rain and indulge in the cold breeze of the city.

She wrung her fingers through her hair absentmindedly and smoothed it down with her palm.

' _But first I gotta get cleaned up a bit atleast..'_

 

\-----------ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ -------

 

"You fucked 'im!" Came Kisame's bold and amused voice.

"I did not.. f-f.." God she was such a dweeb. Akira couldn't even say the word 'fuck'  
without getting flustered by using it in such an innuendo as scandalous as this.  
Kisame immediately found interest in the smaller woman's attempt to defend her pride, but her flustered state made the situation all the more difficult for her.  
He cupped a hand around his ear and leaned in to feign his deafness.

"Hm~? What's that? You'll have to speak up, Akira-san." He teased mercilessly.

  
"... _fuck him_.." She hurriedly whispered while averting her eyes from his with an embarrassing blush covering her well-shaped cheeks.  
His arrogant smile only widened at her words, making the very little fat in his cheeks rise and twist into an evil grin.  
"What? I don't think I heard you!" His intentionally loud voice would catch the attention of any onlookers as he leaned even closer towards her.  
_'Kami!'_ She should of known Kisame would of done something like unrelentingly tease her no matter how uncomfortable she was.

 

"..I said.." Her eyes darted around the room in a paranoid manner. "I didn't.. f-fuck him!"  
She admitted, pushing him away from her in annoyance as she regretted revealing the information of Zetsu being her partner to the large cool-toned male.  
Kisame let a hardy laugh escape him before giving her back a rough pat in encouragement.  
She flinched and flushed a deep red from hearing his loud guffaw of a chuckle resounding through the 'living room' and hallway, fearing somebody heard her discussing such a incriminating topic.  
"Well," he let out a few more 'Ha-has' before continuing. "You probably should, and maybe then he'd learn to loosen up a little."  
The new shade of red that heated her face couldn't even be possible!  
She could blame it on the embarrassingly dirty thoughts that flooded her mind with just the two words of 'Fuck' and 'Zetsu' being uttered in the same sentence.  
You could call her childish all you wanted, but unwillingly imagining her plump lips upon his while moving them with such an intensity that the bruising pent-up pressure could be considered something as illicit as a crime of passion would make anybody heat up at the thought of it.  
Or envisioning the way she impatiently writhed beneath him for fulfillment before finally bucking his hips fervently into hers with a strangled groan into the crook of her neck that conveyed his yearning for her which only spurred him on to push her legs apart even wider to satisfy his lust..  
  
' _Did he even do things like that?'_ Akira thought confused about the dichromatic male's feelings towards sexual endeavors. The closest she's came to achieving anything similar to that was when she absentmindedly caressed him gingerly and planted a sensual kiss to his cheek that freezing night on the rural border.  
He didn't react the way she expected him to with his hesitance to ease into her tantalizing ministrations and fofeit under the allure of it all, but nonetheless she admired his modesty.

 

She shook her head slightly with a few blinks to bring her mind back down from the seventh heaven and realize that Kisame was still waiting expectantly for some kind of answer.  
"...Don't be so.. _crude_." She muttered while slowly beginning to feel the urge to shrink away from his convicting gaze but instead forced her eyes to meet his, as if a show of defiance.  
"And I'll have you know he happens to be very friendly once you get to know him!" She finished with an upturned brow that made her look more pitifully doe-like than determined.  
"Oi, I'm just being honest. Not to mention shyness is rather becoming of you." He playfully stated to the flustered kunoichi.  
"Kisame-san." A deep voice warned, interrupting his pestering from the simple recliner where Itachi sat comfortably. "I wouldn't advise harassing the new member, unless you enjoy a quarrel." He informed lowering his book to his lap with a bored tone and an expression to match.  
Kisame turned towards his long time partner from across the room to give him an amused snort from his sudden interest to speak up now.  
"Are you blind, Itachi? Even _you_ should notice that this hellcat's got thick skin, she can take it." He said with a thumb pointed lazily at the young woman.

Where were these compliments coming from?  
It seemed a bit uncharacteristic for Kisame to flatter someone intentionally, unless he was dealt a powerful blow by his enemy and felt compelled to commend their skill, but this was completely different.  
She couldn't help but question if he was being serious or not.  
The slight smirk that played on his lips made it even harder to decipher his intentions but she didn't want to overthink it, so instead she came to the conclusion that perhaps he was just itching for a fight, or maybe someone vouched for her recently.. _  
'Heh.. I wonder who would do that.'_

"Thick skinned _and_ hard to kill too, huh?" He said craning his neck back towards her and lifting his still gesturing hand to press the thumb against his throat and slide over the pale blue skin as though referencing a cutthroat expression.  
"Oh, _this_.." Guessing he meant the wound on her neck that the white mesh material covered, she reached a hand up to tighten her fingers around it slightly.  
"I did this to myself actually." She stated, not realizing how it sounded to the uninformed nin, but once getting an eyeful of Kisame's surprised expression she knew what he must of thought.  
"Uhh, that's not what meant." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck before continuing. "I was put under a genjutsu.. It wasn't the best one I've seen but it was definitely convincing enough to inflict some kind of damage before I released it."  
She clarified, sparing them what she deemed to be boring details of the attack.  
"And who was unfortunate enough to cross paths with you?" Kisame asked intrigued by the mention of some battle story.  
"I'm afraid I can't relay that information, no matter how petty it is. You understand."  
Strict orders by none other than Pein himself. He made it quite evident once Akira completed her first mission and found out the ring was not only an important tool to seal the Bijū, but also a communication device of sorts, allowing her to manifest in some type of hologram just like the rest of the organization could.  
Though it was only used to give and receive important messages or orders, although once she used this way to inform Pein of their success with the mission, he made it very clear that she was to keep most details and information a secret from the other members, excluding her partner of course.  
This just happened to be the downfall of espionage, but atleast she didn't have to experience it all by herself now that she was working in a two-man cell.

 

"Dōjutsu?" Was all Itachi asked, catching the attention of the two once again.

"Fortunately no, it wasn't, but I'm curious as to how he was able to perform the technique without me noticing any of his seals." She confessed feeling his cold stare bore into her as it silently demanded for an answer.  
It was probably the best option to be truthful about it. It wasn't like it was too much of an important detail for it to jeopardize her secrecy and it pleased her somewhat to find him a tad interested in what she had to say, even if he did unnerve her a little.

He made a signature 'hn' in contentment before Kisame decided to pipe up.  
"I don't think the chances of running into someone with another sharingan are that high really. I mean to others it would probably seem unusual for the Akatsuki to posses one, be it in the skull of the user.. or not."  
Akira internally cringed thinking about how macabre some of the members could be but she could see how desensitizing things would get after being subsequent to so many rigorous missions that required your morality to be kept locked up tight somewhere in your mind.  
"What I'm trying to say is that our organization is filled with freaks, and if they found out someone just so happened to wield that type of power, you bet your ass that they'd find you, no doubt about it." He continued matter-of-factly before shrugging his shoulders slightly. "More power, more money. And definitely not the other way around."

"I'm just happy to know that I wasn't made an example of what makes this dōjutsu so special.." Akira humbly commented, unsure if she would of survived the situation if her enemy was indeed a Sharingan-user.

"It doesn't matter if it's 'special' or not. What really matters is if you can live long enough to tell the tale, and now that I think about it.. didn't you say you could dispel genjutsu?" He asked while raising a brow.

"Ah, yes. Though I guess I kind of eroded the ability lately.. but I like to think I'm making progress with it." She admitted while reflecting back to the recent discomfort it's been inflicting on her.  
Before she could get lost in the philosophy of it all, she gave him a look of suspicion.  
"Anyway, why do you ask?"

"Looks like you've met your match, Itachi-san!" He jokingly stated while ignoring her inquiry to turn towards the disinterested Uchiha with a grin. Itachi lifted a brow in return, silently asking just what the hell Kisame was implying.  
"Don't look at me like you weren't thinking the same thing. When do you ever get the opportunity to spar with someone who's seemingly qualified enough to go against you, huh?" He scolded _._

_'Oh, Hell no..'_

There was no way in ninja hell that Akira was gonna fight an Uchiha, unless she was being threatened with her life.  
Not only did she not want to be humiliated by her lack of skill that was required to dispel an Uchiha's well experienced genjutsu, but the thought of her eyeball popping out in the midst of battle made her grimace at the thought.  
Well, maybe it wouldn't 'pop' out of socket, that's just being a bit dramatic, but it sure felt like it would with the immense pain it caused!

"Kisame, stop trying to set up fights!" She huffed in annoyance.  
He didn't seem the least bit fazed as he opened his mouth with a well-placed retort, but was interrupted by the smooth baritone voice of his partner.

"I'm afraid there wouldn't be much of a fight, only due to the fact that you've been entrapped under my genjutsu ever since you looked into my gaze, Kunoichi." Itachi apathetically voiced.  
Her eyes instantly flickered to his in shock, unable to process exactly how powerful the man was to be able to effortlessly undermine her without her knowledge.  
No words were exchanged for a brief moment as the two dumbfounded shinobi internally gawked at the Uchiha.  
Finally Itachi broke the silence and cleared the ever growing ominous atmosphere with one explanation.

"That was a joke."

An audible sigh of relief could be heard escaping Akira's lips, while the Kirigakure nin seemed unamused with his partners strange sense of humor.  
"...I never pegged you as the comedian type, Itachi. I guess I was right about that." Kisame admitted bluntly.  
Itachi frowned at his words and suddenly found himself interested in his book than the conversation once again.

"Listen, nothing you say is gonna make me rise to that kind of challenge, but that doesn't mean I won't spar with _you_." Akira said while pointing a finger towards him briefly.

 

"Then what are we waiting for?" He replied slowly shuffling his way towards the door.

"Wait!"

Her arm reached up to clasp her fingers around his forearm forcefully to stop him in his tracks, but ended up getting dragged a few feet with him from the sheer muscle power he packed.  
When he ceased his steps to quizzically peer down at the protesting young woman, that's when she noticed how much of a physical difference there was between them.  
He was tall, muscular, and no doubt intimidating, but there was one thing that compelled her to release her grip on him and shift uncomfortably under his trenchant gaze.

He was _handsome_. 

Something she never really noticed, until the woman in her opened her eyes to the ignorance she was blinded by.  
You could practically hear the echoing 'ding' of the bell that chimed within her mind like a sudden strike of realization.  
True, he wasn't the most conventionally good looking male to ever exist, but that's what made his desirability so hard to pick up on, and not to mention a lot more enthralling.  
It was a subtle creeping sensation that made her breath simmer in her throat and her chest tighten with muted anxiety as she studied the strong lines of his jaw, and the masculinity that poured from his entire disposition.  
Her eyes immediately shifted downwards as a sign of unintentional weakness towards the heavy allure that beckoned her to get caught up in.  
"..What?" He asked, voice full of impatience but with no hint of disdain traceable.

"Well I... I was hoping you would accompany me to.. the local marketplace first."  
She hesitantly answered while feeling slightly stupid from the offer.  
He grinned in amusement, finding the request for his company adorably charming with the attempt to hide her faintly heated cheeks from his inspection.  
"And what makes you think I want to do that?" He questioned, not ready to give in just yet.  
Her eyes shot up from the unexpected inquiry and furrowed her brow from confusion, uncaring if he noticed the vague tint that littered her nose and cheeks.  
"Don't you wanna spar with me?"

"Heh, actually I think you owe me that as thanks. Remember?"

She frowned in frustration from his callous attitude towards her plea for a companion to the large confusing city of Amegakure.

"Don't make me go alone! I don't even know how to get back here yet!" She implored.

"Well what's in it for me?"  
He may think of himself as somewhat directionless in life at times but that didn't mean he took orders from just anybody. Even if they did happen to be a cute kunoichi that was pleading for escort with charming doe eyes.  
"I-I don't know.. I don't have anything to offer.." She sighed in exasperation "Fine. I guess I'll just have to ask someone else." She finished while brushing past him.  
"I suppose I could get someone like Kakuzu to go with me... that is, if I beg him enough." She mused bringing a finger to her chin in thought.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up a second, Hellcat." He pulled her back to him by the collar of her cloak. "I never said I didn't want to go." The stronger nin stated.

"But you ju-!"

"I only _asked_ if there was anything in it for me. Besides I think I could use a little time outside the base, don't cha think?" He explained while relinquishing his hold on her collar.

Her hands propped themselves on her hips as she gave him a smug smirk.  
"Sure." She said humoring him.

 

Something told her that wasn't all to it, but finally decided it wasn't the best to dwell on the petty reasoning as to why he would _suddenly_ agree on going.  
It's not like he would admit anything anyway, he was too stubborn for it, but she somehow sensed an appeal in his challenging demeanor.

With him by her side, she had faith that the rest of the afternoon was going to be a lot better than how the day started out.


	12. Ciao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I was writing the ending for this, I was thinking I was about to drop the hottest mixtape of 2015.  
> Make sure to read the "IMPORTANT" note when you get to it please lol ok bye 
> 
> (●´ω｀●)
> 
> Contains FLUFF and STRONG NSFW

 

The pristine porcelain paint of the small Lucky Cat statue dampened upon hitting the unrelenting rain that cascaded and dripped down the sides of the figurine that was currently clutched gently between steady hands.

Akira matched the smirking feline's expression with a warm smile of her own, and ignored the clamorous noises of commuting crowds that littered the busy festival market streets of Ame.  
Without the signature Akatsuki cloak and only her fitted smoky colored fatigues and Kasa guarding her from the freezing rain, she maneuvered herself more into the open-doored boutique like shelter that seemed awfully vacant considering how most of the population of The Hidden Rain was preparing themselves for the extraordinary festivities of Halloween that only seemed to be just a few days away.

 

The tawny floorboards creaked from under the gentle movement of her feet as she lifted up the hanging cloth that blocked her view from the cluttered room.

"Hello?" She called out meekly still clutching the small figurine to her chest absentmindedly.  
In the midst of scanning the room, her gaze abruptly ended on the small commodities of good luck and fortune that sat shelved on the far left wall that was nearest to her.

"Oh?" Her eyes grew wide upon noticing the large display of charms and idols that sat pridefully poised on their mantles, before taking note of the Rikoudo Sennin bust that seemed to make itself evident from the burning incense that filled her nostrils with its powerful earthy aroma.

 _'I haven't seen such a well kept shrine like this in a long time..'_ Akira thought while ogling the immaculate centerpiece that probably hadn't seen a speck of dust in ages.

She could remember the countless times Kurou enforced the chore of cleaning the precious shrine they kept displayed audaciously in their humble home.  
Despite it being such a tedious task, it reminded her of how it could be a symbol of reason and hope for them both.  
After a long time of dealing with such contemptuous missions issued by the land you swear to protect, you begin to feel obligated to keep yourself as professional as possible to carry out some of the most distasteful acts the reigning officials would rather keep hidden in the shadows.  
It was easy to lose your sense of moral judgment and succumb to aimless obedience, but that just meant you had to reevaluate your point of reason to which you've chosen this path.  
So it was somewhat of an ingenious idea to place the token of clarity as their home's centerpiece.  
It was definitely uncharacteristic of Kurou to flaunt any materialistic item, but something told her it wasn't because he was proud of it and wanted to rub it in everybody's faces, -- No matter how beautifully adorned and immaculate the memorial was -- but it was more of reminder of his reason for _any_ of his actions.  
The basis as to why he chose to become a shinobi, fight against the hidden injustices during Amegakure's civil war, and later on the reason why he met his untimely demise.  
Regardless of the belief system that he heavily imbued into both their minds, the idolized statue deserved Akira's upmost respect, making the ritualistic habit appear once again and causing her to lift the Kasa off her head to lean on her back by its transparent string, and tipped her head to bow before it humbly.

"Oh my! Is this what I'll be working with?" A mature females voice piped right near Akira's ear, startling her out of her worship and causing her to abruptly flinch into the direction of the older woman who stood ogling her features.

"Ah! I-I'm sorry! I hadn't realized someone was here!" Akira replied in surprise, backing up slightly from the woman's looming figure that seemed to lean in even closer to size up her appearance.  
The kimono wearing woman presumably in her early fifties smiled in satisfaction. "Your face won't need much work.." She lifted a hand to stroke her chin in thought as she scanned Akira's face, taking in every detail.  
"But no matter a woman's beauty, she too can become the most perfect porcelain doll with just a few of my touch ups!" She pleasantly chirped, ignoring Akira's previous comments and swung an arm around the confused Kunoichi's shoulders to guide her through the small room.

"Huh? What do you mean _'touch ups'?_ " Akira inquired, suddenly feeling a bit of regret from ambling into the 'shop' and being unwilling signed up for something she had no clue about.  
"Well I'm a beautician of course! Didn't you read the sign out front, my dear girl?" She clarified while gently pushing Akira to sit into the wooden chair that was set closely in front of a freshly polished mirror.

 _'Beautician..?'_  

The woman seemed dead set on giving her a makeover of some sort, but Akira couldn't help but feel indecisive about wasting her time with something so vain, but her politeness was getting in the way of any type of protest.  
Her mind frantically roamed to the whereabouts of Kisame, wondering how he just suddenly disappeared when she previously turned her back to get a good look at the small trinket that she still clutched closely to her chest.  
He couldn't have gone too far..

"Um, I suppose I didn't see it, but I'm sorry to say I have someone waiting for me, miss. I would hate to keep him waiting." Akira said, hoping to use Kisame as an excuse to escape the fingers being thoroughly wrung through her hair.  
"Oh, I'm sure he can wait just a little longer. Besides, once he gets a good look of this _lovely wife of his_ , he won't be able to resist keeping his hands off of you!" She replied enthusiastically while pulling away her Kasa to set it on a nearby table.  
Akira immediately flushed a deep rouge at the woman's assumption.

"W-wife? I'm afraid you've got it wro-"

"Nonsense! There's no need to be so modest about it, sweetie. Now let's see here..."

Akira watched as she moved around the clutter on the cedar table to bring some sort of cosmetic into view before opening the compact cap to grab a fluffy pad inside of it that was caked in ivory colored powder, then unexpectedly dabbed it over the kunoichi's face and neck, blending it in with the rest of her skin tone.  
She flinched in surprise and instinctively closed her eyes in response as she continued to run the light powder over her features routinely before finishing her ministrations.

 _'I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a bit pampered.. It's been so long since I've really doneany thing like this..'_ Akira thought, letting the stranger abandon the powder before picking up a newfound cosmetic and draw on her upper lash line with an obsidian colored liner.

"Now.. eyes bright like the sun.. and lashes as dark.." With the quick pull of her wrist, the liner flicked upwards to mimic a perfect cat eye. "..as onyx." She finished in a hush tone and a satisfied smirk that displayed her contentment for her own handiwork.

Akira's eyes fluttered open to view the beautiful lines that complimented her eye shape, making them look even more coquette-like.

"You have quite a knack for this! I don't believe I have the steady hand to recreate something so well done." She happily complimented while giving the woman a gracious smile.  
The beautician returned the gesture then reached for a wooden cup containing a dark red liquid and a small tool similar to a paint brush in the other hand.  
"Why thank you.. aaahh..?" She lifted an eyebrow toward the Senju prodigy as if giving her a signal to grace her with a name.

"Oh how rude of me! It's.. um.." She averted her eyes briefly, pondering if she should give out her real name, but then again it was a rather infamous one in the city of Amegakure.

"I-It's Natsumi.." She answered curtly.

_'A little white lie couldn't hurt I guess.. Better safe than sorry.'_

"You?"

"Kumiko Mori." She replied while dipping the brush into the thick cherry liquid and gave it a few stirs before lifting it to Akira's slightly parted lips to coat her top lip with its vibrant properties.  
"And you best not believe we're finished just yet, Natsumi-san! After I'm done with you, that husband of yours will have to beat the men off with a stick!" Kumiko pridefully joked.

"Oh I'd love to see that.." Akira quietly said, forgetting the motivation to explain their actual relationship and instead playing along.

*

 

◢☯◣ ❋ ❃ ❀ (◡﹏◡✿) ✿ ❁ ✾ ◢☯◣

 

*

"And finally.." The brunette beautician wrapped the marigold sash around Akira's Kimono clad waist and tightened it with a rough pull before tying it into a modest bow.  
"..the feminine touch to show off the woman's tiny waist." She said as if narrating her every move.

With palms set firmly on the now beautifully dressed kunoichi's shoulders, she turned her around slowly to face the full length mirror, making her view her own stunning appearance.  
Akira gasped in the most cheesiest way, and began ogling the newly adorned pearl colored Kimono with its genius gold trim and luscious patterns that were in the most appropriate places.

"How did you..?" She was at a loss for words.  
She leaned closer into the mirror to stare wide eyed at the now fresh faced beauty all the while taking in the small details done to her face.  
Her thick lips sweet as cherry, but the color tone was crimson as the interpretation of lust.  
Her eyes were sleek as a feline's, but as sultry as a vixens.  
Akira had never felt so feminine before! She was so used to seeing things such as pampering and primping as petty and unneeded for someone in the lines of combat, but once getting an eyeful of her current remarkable looks she realized it was an instant well deserved ego boost.  
The whole assemble wasn't too much of a bold statement to where people would stare at her as though she were royalty, but it was definitely an eye catcher that could be discreetly appreciated with its subtle touches of appeal.  
Perfect for the now late afternoon's festivities.

Kumiko chuckled happily at her priceless expression. "I take it you're pleased with my work then."  
Akira turned from the mirror to face her with gratitude lacing her every feature that seemed to accentuate her already charming appearance.  
"I really appreciate all the work you've done. I have to admit though, I was a bit unsure about going through with this but you've really exceeded my expectations, Mori-san!" She chirped, getting a little bit more comfortable with her newfound glamour.  
"Please, call me Kumiko!" She said bringing her arms up with open palms lightheartedly then continued. "Mori makes me sound like an old woman." She managed to state through brief giggling.  
"Of course. Here.." Akira began shuffling for something inside one of the kimono's wrapping, only to reveal a personal coin purse. "Allow me to repay you for all your help."

Reaching inside the pouch to hand her a generous sum of ryo, she was immediately interrupted before she could complete the motion from a familiar voice that resounded through the small enclosure.

"Leave that to me." Kisame said while ducking under the flaps of blue cloth that hung from the doorway and maneuvered himself towards the two dumbfounded women.

"Kisa..?" She questioned in a hush tone.

He lifted his Kasa that shielded most of his face upwards slightly with a single thumb to wink at her smugly.  
"Oh~ so this must be the mystery man, huh?" Kumiko lulled and smiled suggestively at the flustered kunoichi.  
Kisame chuckled at the comment while finding Akira's attempt to hide her candy colored blush amusing.  
"H-hai.. It seems so." Akira 'admitted' playing along with the woman's thoroughly believed assumptions.  
It's not like she could blurt out the truth of their connection and affiliation with a notorious terrorist organization. What was the point of doing so anyway?  
"You must be one lucky guy to have such a sweet and polite young woman at your side! Not to mention how lovely she looks now that I'm done with her." The mature woman commented sweetly.  
"Oh? Is that so?" Kisame smirked, completely entertained by the stylists deduction of the relationship between the two.  
"Don't tell me she isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen! Just look. A perfect doll!" She gushed, all the while Akira lowered her head slightly in embarrassment.

"I guess I'll just have to get a better look then." He replied coyly before lifting his hand up to writhe his pastel index finger in a 'come closer' motion.  
She didn't move muscle, even under their expecting gazes until she was suddenly pushed by Kumiko, almost making her trip and fall into the tall Akatsuki but caught her footing before any further embarrassment could ensue.  
"Don't be shy! He is your husband after all!" She encouraged completely ignorant to the silent tension arising in the room.  
Akira immediately began to regret the small steps she made towards the much stronger male once he took a hold of her wrist to twirl her around slowly, ogling every detail that her beautiful form had to offer.

It was a strange turn of events to witness the presumably combat hardened shinobi  
that recently joined up with a group of S-Rank killers, and was now standing meekly before him like some sort of dolled up marriage candidate.  
It was beyond amusing, but also strangely.. _adorable_. 

 

"It's a good look for you, Hellcat." He said, downplaying his actual thoughts but not letting the hold on her wrist go even as she made a small attempt to reclaim it, before she soon stopped the vain protest of proximity from noticing the strange and playful glint in his eye from under the Kasa.  
"...Arigato." She murmured from under both their uncomfortable gazes.  
She heard a few happy claps coming from the stylist when the excited middle-aged woman decided speak up once more.  
"Please tell me you're both going to the festival letter lighting tonight!"

"Letter lighting?" Akira managed to ask through a receding flustered state.  
The woman perked up at her question, reveling in being the first to relay the seemingly well known information.  
"I'm surprised you hadn't heard anything about it already. It's been the talk of town since last week!"  
Akira felt a slight tug on her seized wrist that signaled the cool-toned male's disinterest for the topic, and wish to leave as he pulled her closer to him, making her falter slightly with her words once her back gently hit his firm chest.

"I.. don't get out much, I guess.." Akira hesitantly explained, giving him a slight jab to the chest with her elbow from his insistent tugs.

She hadn't really noticed he was being a little grabby from her interest overpowering her judgement, but she could tell he was not happy with the idea of participating in some boring festival activity. The only things he had on his mind at the time were enjoying some sake on this rainy day off from his usual rigorous missions, heading back to base sometime when things began to wind down for the night, and unfortunately _her_.

She looked so fragile considering that she was a well known and _apparently_ blood-thirsty murderer, as the old news extras use to say when he did his quick briefing before he was sent to hunt her down.  
To see her looking as intimidating as a kitten and as beautiful as a sakura blossom was quite a change of events for him. It was almost instinctual for him to feel a _slight_ bit of possessiveness towards her. Well as much as he'd like to admit to himself atleast.  
The truth is, he was beginning to see her less as a formidable and potential opponent that he enjoyed teasing from time to time, to an undoubtedly beautiful woman with the possibility of having the abilities and smarts to keep up with the him and the Akatsuki.  
Perhaps he didn't have to give up the teasing part though.. that was too amusing for him, but he couldn't help but feel a bit more nervous when she flashed him an annoyed look with her heavy set of lashes, and her eyes that sparkled against its vibrant color.  
It was uncharacteristic of him to feel the warmth spread in his chest pleasantly when he got a whiff of the subtle perfume that emitted from her form, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy the feeling.

Before he could get too caught up with it, he noticed the squawking brunette's lips moving, signaling she must of answered Akira sometime after he was lost in the pleasantries of thought.

"..Great! I'm sure you two will have lots of fun!" Kumiko exclaimed excitedly.

 _  
'For someone her age she seems to be quite the energetic one.'_ Akira thought while giving her a polite smile in agreement.

"Here, I'm guessing this should be enough." Kisame said curtly, uncaring if he heard about the exciting festivity or not in the meanwhile outstretching his free hand to showcase a sack of ryo to accommodate the fee.

"Arigato gozaimasu! I really hope to see you both there tonight!" She hopefully chirped while taking the money and watching him impatiently pull the unsuspecting beauty out the door and into the crowds before she could give a drawn out goodbye.

*

 

► ☾♡☽ ◄ ┈┈┈┈┈ ◒ ┐(‘～`；)┌ ◓ ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ► ☾♡☽ ◄

 

*

 

Akira fiddled mindlessly with the orange rice paper lantern that sat on the wide open kiosk-like bar counter with both shinobi's Kasa's long forgotten on the smooth cherry wood.  
Vaguely listening to Kisame's story about some dangerous mission Pein had sent him on recently, her mind wandered to the prior words of the beautician.

_'Once you write it down, it'll come true!'_

"Do you think wishes really do come true, Kisame-kun?" She childishly questioned, uncaring how silly the inquiry sounded to the fellow missing nin who sat on the wooden barstool next to her whilst casually nursing his drink.  
He immediately gave her a strange look for the change of honorific and odd question before replying.

"Were you even listening?"

"Ki-sa-me~!" She whined, beckoning for his answer.

He set his cup down to eye her for a brief moment. Taking in the way her cheeks tinted a slight pink from the sweet alcohol, and the doe like gleam in her eyes that only accentuated the plea.  
Oh he wasn't gonna fall for this look again. He was just too stubborn to at least.

"And why does _my_ opinion matter about this or not?" He asked not quite giving in just yet.  
The dolled up kunoichi ran her fingers over the sides of her wooden cup indecisively.

"Well, to be honest since the day I met you, you've always been rather... _blunt_ about things. Like you're not afraid to tell the truth even if it means saying something that somebody doesn't agree with. I value that type of honesty and it might sound rather silly of me.. but you seem to be one of the most sensible out of the few from the group that I've met so far."  
Her eyelids lowered, bringing the cup up a small distance away from her cherry stained lips, that lost the gooey red cosmetic long ago when she was on her second cup.  
"It only seems right that I wish to hear of your opinions from time to time." She finished, finally taking a sip of her sake and leaving him feeling a tad confused but very flattered from her 'compliment'.

The small confession shocked him slightly, but nevertheless stroked his ego.  
Unlike many of his fellow Akatsuki, he actually had a partner he could tolerate, maybe even call a 'friend', though he was in lack of those nowadays.  
Itachi valued his opinion but it was on rare occasions he was able to express them with the stoic Uchiha, so it left a pleasant feeling in him to know that aspect of him was acknowledged, or maybe that was the sake.. Either way the attention from a now deemed competent woman made him mutter a "Damn right." from under his breathe before clearing his throat and responding with an actual reply.

"If it really matters that much to you, then I suppose I like to believe a wish isn't really a wish if it comes true, it's more so of what you've done for it to happen. So I guess what I'm trying to tell ya is -- if you really want it bad enough than anything is possible."  
He explained, hoping to satisfy her curiosity.  
Her glossy painted nails clasped around her chin in thought, pondering the wise words for a moment.  
"So then she was probably wrong then.." She mused slumping her shoulders in a sulk.  
Kisame's brow lifted then shortly fell backdown in their natural position in 'Welp, that's that.' expression.  
After a brief moment he decided to speak up uncaringly.  
"What's the point of wishing for something anyway? Hell, most people just take what they want by force."

"True..." The smaller nin's solemn tone of voice alerting him as he turned his head to get a glance at her.  
His gaze examining her for a problem, but instead getting an eyeful of her glum face that held downturned eyebrows, a cute pouting frown, and a thoughtful gaze held on the clear liquid in her cup.  
If it wasn't for the now unenthusiastic aura surrounding her, he would've kept quiet and appreciated the adorable situation, but then again she did seem rather disappointed and that was never a good thing for enjoying a night off.  
"Oi, what did that old woman actually tell you back there..?" He asked in hush voice, nudging her shoulder with the knuckles of fist to once again get her attention.  
"Didn't you hear her? She said if you write down your wish and put it in the lantern, then some sort of spirit with a funky name recognizes your hearts longing and it comes true." Akira attempted to pick up her dignity and feign a not so gullible disposition about the beauticians gossip.  
"..It's not like I believe in such a childish thing.. but it doesn't hurt to hope, right?"  
She explained.  
He restrained himself from rolling his eyes, seeing right through her lie. He knew very well she was probably the type to believe in such superstitions, but it wasn't like it annoyed him, somehow he found her belief in the juvenile fallacy a bit.. sweet.  
"What, like a ghost? I wouldn't bet on the phantom of whatever making your dream come true, Hellcat."

She figured he wasn't the kind of guy that fell for any hoaxes like spirits, wishes, _happily ever afters,_ and any other type of ruses that tricked you into feeling a bit of pious hope.  
No, he seemed like someone who fell back on a chaotic structure of some sorts, like whenever something in his life became difficult for him or questioned his morality or integrity, he would go with the flow instead of hoping it would get better, believe that it will some how work out in his favor, or forcefully appeal to a greater good.  
She deduced that he saw right from wrong and strongly disagreed with both, uncaring how it would effect another's plot, dream, or intentions.  
He may of saw himself as aimless, but in her eyes he was undeniably neutral, and she could admire the realism that came with it.

"You think I'm clueless, don't you?" She questioned with a somber smile, not taking her eyes off the clear liquid in her cup.

"..Only to an extent. It's not every day you find somebody still latching onto a shred of hope in this dying city." His gaze mimicked hers, with this kind of topic it was easy to catch the fever of a thoughtful look.

"What makes you believe this is a dying city? If you haven't noticed, it seems to be bustling, especially since it's close to a holiday." She commented breaking the spell to eye his profile curiously.

"That's only what they want you to see, despite how cheesy it sounds. Underneath it all this place has a series of scars littered across its canvas, that you can tell by most of the residents views on restoring their culture from the previous war but choose hiding themselves away from any neighboring countries."

"You think they're afraid of something like that happening again?" She questioned as he seemed to think about it before responding.

"Well tragedy will make anyone bitter and I mean _anyone_. Sure, you can be the sweetest and kindest person in all the land, but once someone brings up that sort of beef you have no other choice but feel compelled to defend yourself. It's scar tissue, and it's sensitive. You don't want others going around poking and prodding at your own business, and that's what most of the other villages are good at. So The Rain became a shut-in." He finished, taking another drink of his sake and briefly listening to the thunderous rain that smacked loudly onto the busy streets.

It was true multiple wars raged from outside the city _and_ within making the still recovering population of Ame a little war torn, but what _really_ made them unreceptive to any villages offer of retribution?

"A grudge then.." She deduced in a hushed tone. "..Holding a grudge doesn't solve much, or even revenge, and unfortunately I can vouch about that. In my opinion I think it only furthers animosity, and any relating actions to become nothing but a pointless hate crime." She explained gripping the cup with a little too much force.

"Yeah, but it can stop any future damages from happening." He stated getting a glimpse of her slightly contorted face that might of been something of anger.

"I guess you're right.." She agreed hesitantly.

"I hadn't realized you felt so strongly about something as phony as 'politics'." He raised an eyebrow before a toothy grin spread across his face.

"Come on, Akira-san! Lighten up a little!" He said bringing his right arm up to give her a signature pat to the back encouragingly, making her splutter slightly on the liquid that sloshed in her mouth from the sheer effortless force he imbued within the action.

"Have you no restraint..?" She said quietly enough for him not to notice and set her drink down on the counter before he spoke up once again.

"This is the only time we'll get to spend freely for a while, and trust me, you'll find out Leader-sama doesn't give us enough recreational time."

Heading his words she loosened up a little and took another drink with a small smile.  
He probably had to be the easiest person she's talked to. Thankfully, not a lot could get to him, and she probably needed a little bit more of his carefree attitude in her life. What a pleasant change.

 

⋌⋘♢⋙⋋ ☴ ☵ ☶ ☷ (๑ↀᆺↀ๑)✧ ☴ ☵ ☶ ☷ ⋌⋘♢⋙⋋

 

 

The buzzed kunoichi fumbled carelessly with the newly bought sake bottle, twisting the cap off the green glass and filling up the two cups that sat on the very low wooden table, as she continued to laugh at her intimidating companions crude joke that sat cross legged next to her and also seemed as equally inebriated as her.

Somehow they found themselves meandering back to base and residing comfortably in Kisame's well furnished room together.

"When are you ever gonna learn not to tease your fellow Akatsuki, Kisame-kun?"  
Akira scolded jokingly in response to his criticizing humor about a certain member of the organization.  
"You can't convince me that you actual have some sort of high opinion for that foul mouthed zombie." He said chuckling before taking in the sweet flavor of wheat that wrapped around his tongue after bringing the wide brimmed cup to his lips for another taste.  
She bit her tongue before she could agree with him. She knew she wasn't the one to openly slander someone's name, even if she did dislike them strongly, but perhaps the silver-headed priest didn't deserve as much of her respect due to the fact he completely berated her as soon as he found out she was a 'useless fuckin' rookie' that the Akatsuki shouldn't have let in because 'they didn't have enough room for an obvious informant'.  
His words might of stung and completely humiliated her that day some time after her arrival back to the base when she completed her first mission, but in some way it was a reminder that she wasn't going to be well liked by _all_ the members she met, so she could definitely take solace in spending time with one of them that seemed to tolerate her and maybe even enjoy her company.  
With the memory fresh in her mind she set her drink on the hickory table before coming up with a hesitant reply.  
"Well I have to agree he may not be the friendliest person I've met but I suppose everybody needs a little time to warm up to me. I am still new after all."  
Akira figured she would take it easy on him despite his cruel and apathetic ways, thus eliciting a noise of curiosity from the larger male that sat closely next to her on the tatami floor.  
"Oh, so you fancy the 'bad boy' type, eh? Too bad for you that he's celibate." He commented feeling a tinge of jealousy even though he knew he was just toying with her.  
"You've gotta be kidding me! Not even the most tolerant woman would fall for his buffoonish behavior and you would be ignorant to really believe a lady of my esteem would become enthralled by such an uncharismatic lowbrow." She dramatically announced letting an open palm fall to her chest in the most theatric fashion to display the motive of her joke with him snickering in response.

She hadn't really felt that way towards him, it was a joke of course. A joke the alcohol helped her express, but she wasn't about to let the thick skinned man just get away with insulting her a few days prior. (I'm so sorry Hidan is awesome I will make up 4 this, pls don't kill me)

She smirked upon noticing his amusement and figured she would set up a plot of revenge with just a few words.  
With her legs still folded neatly under her, she lifted her bum off the heels of her feet and slightly leaned into his towering form to cup a hand around his ear, as to gesture her own secretive intentions. "Besides.." She started in a silky hush tone.  
His eyes immediately trailed the unveiled crevice of her collarbone as the shoulder of her disheveled kimono unwilling slipped away from her quick movement and exposed the part below her neck, giving him a sultry view of her cleavage.  
He averted his eyes in a gentlemanly fashion, refusing to let his blush deepen as his mind involuntarily focused on the heated breath that caressed the shell of his ear, and the smooth low tone of her voice that spilled juicy gossip.

He quickly tried to conceal the obvious tint and unsettling coil in his lower stomach with some kind of response.  
"..And you really believe he's into something like that? How ridiculous.."

"Hey now! It was only some rumor I heard!" She defended, pulling back slightly to hover near him just enough to value his personal space.

"Where'd you get that piece of gossip from? Zetsu?" He asked snickering at the thought of the secretive and nosy man relaying such an obscene bit of information to the kunoichi.

"N-no!" She stammered, attempting to think of a better excuse.

"Don't lie to me, kunoichi. You're just as nosy as your partner. Admit it." He teased, enjoying how he turned the tables to where she was blushing instead of him.

"Oi! That's not true! It's my _job_ to gain intel on other people. You know that!"

 **IMPORTANT**  
These parts hereafter contain **optional** NSFW! Which basically means smut lol so please don't read if this ain't your thing. Otherwise, please take notice that the rest of this isn't canon to the next chapters of the story. It's simply a side ending for whomever it fancies.

 

"Is that what you keep telling yourself?" He was too entertained with the playful banter to notice her elbow backing up to accidentally knock over the cup containing sake and spilling all over his lap and tapered shinobi pants.

She gasped out a sharp "Ah!" in alarm before immediately pulling on the hem of her kimono to furiously dab the spot on his lap while mentally cursing herself for the clumsy mistake.

"S-Sorry! I-I didn't mean to!" Akira stuttered nervously while continuing to rub against the apparel the best she could to soak up any remaining moisture and not notice the slightly squirming Kisame that leaned back a bit with his palms bracing themselves behind him.  
His eyes grew wide and flinched violently when her hand fervently rubbed over his clothed appendage, making the lower area unwillingly stir in arousal.  
Her muttered apologies died in her throat as soon as he seized her wrist that was giving his lap such intense attention.

"..Kisa.." She lifted her head up to catch his heated gaze "..me..?" and realized what she had done as soon as she finished his name. His face so hard to read for the moment that she was beginning to worry about what was going through his mind.  
The room was dead silent except for the thunderous rain that drummed with the sound of her heartbeat. She watched his throat move as he swallow thickly before tightening his hold on her small wrist. If the tension in the air could get any heavier than it already was, then it would have probably ended up smothering her.

She opened her mouth to say something but instead her mind drew a blank.  
Before she knew it, he made a quick pull on her wrist, brought her closer, closed his eyes and lowered his head, smashing his lips into hers with an intense pressure that caused her to whimper from such strong contact.  
Her mind began to race with thoughts of confusion as he snaked a hand around her to grip the ivory fabric covering her waist and settle his forearm around her snugly.  
The pressure only continued with his lips massaging her lifeless ones and running his tongue over the bottom of it, still keeping his mouth over hers insistently.  
The feeling was like no other, and it forced her to wince and eventually shut her lids tightly.  
She had never experienced such closeness.  
Sure she had been kissed before.. but definitely not like this, especially not when he grabbed a hold on her chin with his free hand, and tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

Despite her uncertainty and fear, the sexually charged embrace caused quite a stir within her.  
Now that her mind was beginning to clear from the initial shock she began to realize the undeniable chemistry that was building up between the two, but it still surprised her that he made such an intimate move.

 _'Well I guess I was rubbing up against his...'_ "Ah!" She let a muffled gasp escape her as the hand around her waist slipped downwards to sneakily knead her ass in a display of vehemence.

Akira found herself getting lost in the kiss as her hands shot upwards to lay flat against his chest and writhe against his dark colored shirt. Her kimono hitched up to her thighs as she straddled him and kissed back with almost as much intensity as him.  
Finally she hesitantly thrusted her clothed nether region against his, earning a throaty groan that emitted from the cool-toned males throat, signaling he was pleased with her eagerness.

They both knew how lewd the position probably looked, with her thighs squeezing against the sides of his narrow hips, his strong large fingers sneaking under the hiked up Kimono to pull and pinch the smooth flesh of her semi exposed bum, and the pressing kiss that seemed to spur them both on with his tongue slipping between her lips to explore the wet crevice that was her mouth.  
Yes, it was mostly a wanton embrace, but the way his free hand caressed her chin and lovingly stroked the side of her jaw, eased her nerves. He may be a bit over-bearing and bold at times, but she picked up on the most smallest things that exhibited an endearing side that made the heated situation a little bit more meaningful and romantic than just pent up lust.

He pulled away from her bruised lips that expelled the heavy breaths she strained to keep quiet, then began to burrow his nose between the junction of her neck meeting her shoulder, taking in her feminine scent and occasionally licking the rosy skin, eliciting cute little moans from her.  
She smoothed her palms over his broad shoulders, bringing them down to wrap her fingers around his taut biceps and briefly knead the lean muscle that was there, then slide them back up to rest her arms around the back of his neck.  
She couldn't help but feel like a koala from the way she clutched onto him.  
If it wasn't for his hot tongue trailing down the side of her neck and leaving a short line of saliva connecting the two together, she would of laughed about it, but there were more pressing matters like how he bucked his hips upwards, striving to soothe the ache in his trousers that was pulsating with every thump of his rapid heartbeat.

"Kisa-! A-ah!" Her words died short and turned into a tiny gasp when his sharp teeth purposely pricked the sensitive skin near her ear before using his lips to suck on it once again as a sweet apology.  
She dug her nails into his skin slightly, only enough to leave small indentions on the exposed skin where his shoulder was, while slipping her other hand into his dark navy tinted hair.  
Smoothing her fingertips through the coarse strands, he bit down on the same spot again, causing the pads of her fingers that were once massaging his scalp to abruptly graze his head, almost scraping him.  
Kisame suppressed the loudness of his moan from pushing his face further into the skin, and hesitantly remove the hand on her ass to lovingly trail the indention of her spine through the thin fabric.

It felt so natural for Akira to be alone and at times maybe even enjoyed the solitude, but the warm feeling in her chest whenever he caressed and cause the butterflies in her stomach flutter just a little bit more, somehow made her feel a new sense of completion and acknowledgment that she didn't know she was craving.  
And with just a bit of afterthought, she might be able to say that the short trial that led her up to this moment.. was worth it.

And right when she was becoming enthralled and consumed with his ministrations, he pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open to see his conflicted face and his arms pushing her back off his lap to where she was sitting innocently wide legged on the floor in front of him.

"Wha.. W-Why did you.. stop..?" She questioned, her voice sounding a bit desperate and also annoyed about his unexpected move that left her pathetically longing for the touch of his skin once again.

He silently averted his eyes and stood up rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Towering over her, his mind raced for the right words to say before finally sighing heavily and moving to plop down on his bed, his elbows resting on his wide apart knees and his fingers rubbing and massaging his temples as though he were already regretting what he was about to say.  
He shouldn't be feeling this way, he was straightforward and frank, so it shouldn't be problem for him to state his mind, but when she looked at him with such persecuting eyes that saw straight through, he couldn't help but have second thoughts. He was growing way too fond of this woman, but that didn't mean he was planned on changing that any time soon.

"You're too.." His remorseful eyes made contact with her wide and anticipating ones.

 

"..innocent.."

 

_'What the FUCK!'_

He watched as she flung upwards like a grasshopper to stand in front of him with her hands angrily on her hips.

"Are you serious! How am I _too_ innocent!?" She asked giving him a confused glare that seemed unsure if she should be pissed or not.  
It was uncharacteristic of her to get so mad, but when she wanted something badly enough she was gonna put up a fight for it. No matter how stupid his reason.

Kisame let another sigh escape his frowning lips. "Listen, you're just not ready for me yet, Hellcat." He explained gesturing with open palms that showed he didn't mean to offend.

She let her hands drop to her sides and rolled her eyes. "I may not be the most.." Her eyes flickered down to her bare feet out of embarrassment. ".. _experienced_.. with this kind of thing, but that doesn't mean that I don't want it." She moved to wrap her hands around his fists sweetly, gently rubbing the skin there while bringing them closer to her chest and giving him a genuine look of honesty.  
"And I don't care how good your are, how rough you are, or hell, even if you end up killing me," He scoffed at her in amusement as she moved her lips into a small smile and continued "Okay maybe that last part was a joke, but what I'm trying to say is -- please don't stop." She finished with a small kiss to his knuckles making her appear almost docile and kind but he could tell from the way her eyes didn't lose the hold on his that it displayed the burning fire that raged within her and lusted for him, coaxing him to believe that she was just as ready as he was.

Her face made contact with the white sheets of the bed as he used the hold on his hands to pull her to the side and force her upper body to collide flat into the top of his bed, with her ass propped up, legs dangling off the side and him standing behind her.

"I hope you remember those words," His voice low and dangerous as he laid a hand on the groove of her lower back and pulled up the kimono with the other, it's fabric pooling around mid spine and revealing her silky skin covered by simple grey panties that left him hungry for more. "Because not only will I remind you of them later," His large free hand lifted open palmed above her while she tried to catch a view of what he was doing by lifting herself up slightly with her forearms and craning her neck to the side. "I'll have you screaming them in just a minute."

 

_*Smack!*_

 

"Ack! Kis-!"

 

_*Smack!*_

 

The quick slap of his hand on her ass hardly gave her time to react expect for her loud gasps of air and moans of pain.

 _'He wasn't kidding, was he?_ ' 

Kisame's hand stayed on the skin to soothingly rub the now red spot before leaning down to kiss her naked lower back, and lick the small dip in her spine, making her arch and shiver before his hand came down in another

 

_*Smack!*_

 

He smirked listening to her loud gasp and hooked his fingers around the top edge of her underwear to tease her.  
Suddenly he dropped down to his knees to get a better view and run his fingers over her clothed sex. Even in the dim lighting he could still see the strong outline of her nether lips through the tight underwear with a stain of clear dew coating the center of it.  
He fingered it for a moment, causing her to writhe uncomfortably and mewl in pleasure.

His index and middle finger dug in slightly harder through the thin fabric while smacking her ass again with the other.

A strong moan escaped her lips in reaction. The pain stung immensely but it only accentuated her sensitivity to his prodding finger that dipped under the underwear to run along her folds teasingly.

"You like this, don't you? Pervert." He cooed, continuing his ministrations with a little more pressure.

"Pervert?" She exclaimed in an annoyed tone, beginning to feel her cheeks flush even darker with embarrassment.

"You're the one who's a p-perve-- AH! Oh!" Her sentence ended in another gasp and moan when he slipped his long finger inside her.

"More like the author of this story is a pervert.." Kisame commented quietly, accusing the real deviant at work here with Akira agreeing wholeheartedly. (wink wonk)

Feeling her slick tight walls convulse around his middle finger, he _slowly_ pushed his finger in further to where it was sheathed inside almost to the knuckle.  
Her hands writhed against the sheets with her back arching and her tummy pushing into the bed. "You're so tight.." He mused, pulling his finger out of her torturously slow.  
Another mewl was his only reply as she pushed her hips towards him to not lose any feeling of the small fulfillment but was left in vain as he pulled his finger out of her completely.  
"You're such a.. Ah! Tease!" She exclaimed frustrated with his devious actions and winced when he unexpectedly pulled her panties down to her knees, leaving her newly showcased femininity to become exposed to the cold air, making her shiver in delight.

It was such an erotic sight to see the moisture leaking from her slit drip down around her inner thighs and glisten sweetly against the dim light.  
'How long has it been..?' He thought as he brought two fingers up to her core and slip them back in.  
The burning feeling that spread to his loins gave him his answer. _'Too long.'_

Ignoring the longing he felt to just go ahead and push into her to soothe the ache in his pants, he leaned forward to lick the entirety of her wet lips and push his fingers into her with more force. She squealed in response, finding the quick movement painful and pleasurable like a bittersweet paradise. "Ki-sahh..me!" She squeaked out while bucking her hips back to meet the quick thrust of his fingers that were currently making her stomach coil with intensity.  
He only grinned and listened to her soft pants of arousal while adding a third finger into her soaking cunt.  
The friction magnifying when he curled the tips of his fingers to rub against the walls with more pressure than before.  
The coil in her lower stomach only grew with each push, making her cry out from the unfamiliar feeling and sense she was nearing the edge.  
"Don't s-stop, Kisame-kun~! ♡" She cried stuffing the side of her face into the sheets and closing her eyes tightly when she felt the creeping sense of pleasure pass through her and introduce the feeling of euphoria that rushed over her.  
He could feel the stuffy atmosphere heighten and her legs spazz as the muscles around his fingers tightened and gush with a sweet liquid that leaked out from her and onto the back of his hand.  
A low groan resounded through his throat from witnessing such an intense orgasm and caused the fabric around his crotch to tighten unbearably.

Managing to pull his fingers out from her sopping core, he stood to lean over her form, pressing his chest into her back and moving a hand to momentarily brush over her hair.  
With her slowly coming down from her high and her eyes fluttering open, she felt him press a sensual kiss to her cheek before grabbing her by the biceps and turning her over on the bed to look up at him.

 

"Don't think I'm done with you just yet, Hellcat." His tone low and wanton.

 

She had realized even through her exhausted state that he had gone out of his way to please her and left himself feeling painfully aroused. The action made her see he was unexpectedly a giver in the bedroom or at least he wanted to impress her. Of course it worked but she couldn't help but feel compelled to give back and make him feel the exquisite pleasure that he graciously bestowed upon her.

As Kisame moved to straddle her, he was halted in his actions by the kunoichi lifting up onto her knees and pushing his back down onto the bed with her palm.

"Please, I wanna make you feel good too.." She said stopping him from taking the lead for the moment and moving to straddle him instead.

He quirked an eyebrow curiously and let a confident smirk grace his lips while watching her head dip to his neck and kiss the skin there tenderly.

"Oh, I've struck gold, haven't I?" He mused, thinking about how lucky he was to find not only someone he enjoyed wasting his time with, but a woman who is just as eager to satisfy him as he is with her.

The hands riling up the hem of shirt brought him back to reality as he pushed himself up slightly so she could expose the rippling muscle that fluctuated with every little movement he made.

 

 _'He's totally built in the most ideal places, but yet he's.. lean.'_  She thought ogling and appreciating him with fingertips that seemed to graze over every little thing she looked at.  
Her lips met the skin of his chest to place feathery kisses over the lean muscle before giving it a long drawn out lick that made a shiver creep up his spine and sigh.  
Upon hearing it she felt compelled to lightly press her lips onto his, and enjoying the way his breath ghosted over her face as he let another satisfied sigh escape him.  
Her hands moved upwards to play in his hair once again threading into it comfortably while gently pushing her tongue inside his mouth to join his.

Amidst the passionate tangle of tongues, his hands snuck up to place themselves on either side of her hips and roughly grind her hips against his out of impatience.  
His wishful thinking came true as she tore herself from his lips to move downwards slightly to sit next to him.  
Pulling the long white fabric that worked as some kind of belt away, her hands ghosted over the prominent bulge and her lips kissed the dip of his hips to tease him mercilessly.  
The tease of her lips tickled him and the shuffling of her fingers enticed him, leaving him to lightly buck into her hands, signaling for her to continue.  
Before she could do any further damage to his sanity, her fingers slowly worked the clasp on his pants and pulled them all the way off to eye the pastel colored girth that twitched from under her looming breath.  
Not wanting him to feel too exposed, she removed the hitched up kimono to expose the only article of clothing she had on left, her bra.

Immediately Kisame moved to sit up and push her hands away from unclipping the back of it, and generously do it himself to get an eyeful of her perfectly rounded breasts.  
Discarding the matching piece of underwear in some forgotten corner of the room, his strong hands made quick work of moving upwards to knead both breasts gently, making sweet little moans pour from her rosy lips.  
She didn't plan on letting him do all the work no matter how insistent he was. With a hint of defiance on mind, her fingers smoothed up his naked thighs to caress his length and tentatively give a few tugs as experimentation.  
A soft groan was his response, reveling in the friction her smooth skin produced as she continued to move along it with more pressure.  
Her mouth suddenly became dry when he let out a muffled moan into the crick of her neck when her fingers rubbed a particularly special spot just under the head of his length.  
Using the wet residue that dribbled out, she maneuvered her hand to spread it the best she could to make some sort of lubrication and heighten the friction from her increasing pressure.  
His hands continued to worship her until she swiftly moved off the bed and in between his knees, taking his shaft into her hands and giving it a protracted lick that made him flinch at the warmth of her tongue.

He truly believed this woman was going to be the death of him one of these days.

Soon the heat of her mouth enveloped the head and moved down to the middle of his girth. She watched him shiver as she moved up and down rhythmically while using her hands to pump what she couldn't fit into her mouth.  
His brow furrowed as he peered down at the spectacle before him. The view was just too much as he felt his lower stomach tighten unbearably, making him internally curse himself for being so damn sensitive.

"Ahh-! ..Hah!" He writhed uncomfortably when she licked the inside of his thigh and trailed her tongue back up to his flushed and twitching sex. "Ahh-kira-chan.." He mewled while watching her from under half lidded eyes. She listened to her name spill from his lips once again, focusing in on the three syllables (not counting the honorific) that never sounded so good to her.  
"Akira-ch - agh.. That's e-enough.." He said hoarsely demanding her attention.

She continued as though she hadn't heard, getting wrapped up in the moment and wanting to hear more of the beautiful sounds that emitted from him.  
His lower abdomen grew taut as he fisted the sheets in an attempt to suppress the feeling of climax that was slowly creeping up on him.

"S-stop.. or I'm gonna.." He gritted his teeth and forcibly pulled her off him while doing his best not to hurt her.

"I said.. stop.." He explained breathlessly with his hands gently gripping either side of her head, making her peer up at him with wide confused eyes.

"I'm sorry.. I-" Her excuse ended abruptly from his lips colliding into hers roughly, uncaring where they had previously been. Compared to the other lip locks they shared prior, this one felt completely raw from the way he lazily deepened the kiss with the turn of his head and pulled her up from the floor to set her over him once more.  
The kiss grew more intense as he shifted his weight to move them further onto the bed and guide her naked hips upwards to where she was hovering slightly over the tip of his sex.  
She then began to find the position wasn't intentionally awkward for her comfort once she realized what he was about to do.  
She suddenly felt a ball of anxiety spiral in her chest, while bringing her arms up to a hold around the back of his neck.

"Relax." He whispered upon feeling her clasp on to him out of nervousness.

Of course the situation was going to cause her to be anxious. She realized it was all fun and games until she was met with the real deal. It was such an intimate procedure that required each others trust and yeah, she trusted him, or she wouldn't have went through with this in the first place, but it was her first time doing something like this. Obviously virginity isn't even a real thing. At Least scientifically there isn't, but that didn't shake the nerves that came with being inexperienced.

"Trust me, you'll enjoy it a lot more if you stay calm." He stated in her best interest while pressing feathery kisses to her neck and jaw.

Hearing his voice soothed her, along with the sweet little pecks he planted on her to calm the raging waters of fear and doubt that rushed within her.  
With a short nod, she lessened her crushing hold and relaxed against the prodding head that smoothed its way into her core.  
She listened to the hoarse words of encouragement whispered into her ear as he pushed halfway into her. She tensed slightly from the intrusion before forcibly expelling any anxiety left with a sigh.  
The grip on her hips tightened upon sheathing himself completely within her.  
He stilled for a moment, letting her adjust accordingly before feeling her buck up slightly with a moan spilling from her lips.  
She seemed to had relaxed quicker than he thought, thankfully.  
With her little say so to keep going, he sharply thrusted into her making her muffle the responding gasp into the side of his neck, hiding her flushed cheeks.  
He swallowed thickly before gripping her waist to move her a bit more faster above him and eventually into a steady rhythm.  
They both could hear the sticky sound of the skin on skin contact separating and connecting again and again like pulling the glue part off of a sticky note when separating it from the rest of the stack.  
This sound only intensified when he sped up slightly to increase the friction, making her bite the skin on the side of his neck lightly, and in return hearing him groan in appreciation.

_*Smack!*_

Her skin felt like it was pleasurably set on fire after his fingertips collided into the skin of her ass and bouncing off to give a particular rough thrust that sent a spike of euphoria through her mid section.

"..Ahh.. F-fuck.." He stammered feeling her slick muscles squeeze him unbearably tight. The curse word that conveyed his admiration for her only encouraged the kunoichi to continue pleasing him, and move her hips in time with his strong thrusts.  
Before she could elicit anymore noises from him, she felt herself tilting to the side and her back hitting the white sheets as he was now on top of her.  
He pushed in once, twice, then gripped both of her thighs to move her legs over his shoulders and leaned in to where there was hardly anymore space in between them.  
With her legs stretched and her back craned, she could feel him hit a special spot in her, making her moan loudly enough for her to briefly wonder if anybody heard in the neighboring rooms.

_'Kami! How can I explain that!'_

She was abruptly torn from her thoughts of paranoia when he started to push into her with such immense force and intense speed that it made the mattress shift from under the raw power. Her breath began to hitch from the ache in her loins turning into a spreading fire in her gut. He too seemed to be experiencing such a remarkable feeling by the way his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth let out occasional throaty groans.  
With the position allowing him to hit places inside of her that she didn't even know existed, she felt every thrust edge her into some kind of lust filled daze, making her crave release and gasp with every sharp jut he produced.  
He laid his forearms on the either side of her head to get better leverage and crash into her once again, making him release a breathy sound that embodied his yearning for more.  
The slick sound of their connection only intensified as his hips smashed into hers and began making a slap with each plunge into the slippery hot paradise between her legs.

"Agh.. Akira-chan.." He groaned before kissing her instinctively.  
Reciprocating the enthralling kiss, she felt her lower gut grow taut and internally twist with pent up pleasure. It suddenly felt like a knot snapped when he pulled his lips away from hers to bite down on her shoulder and give another terribly pleasurable thrust into her core, sending her over the edge and causing her to twitch and cry out from under him.  
The pressure around his impressive length was becoming suffocating as he continue to let out heavy breaths and push her further into the dip of the bed, making each sharp and sloppy move more effective and exemplifying the cramped feeling in his stomach.  
He continued to push in and out of her even as she began to come down from her high, before he finally felt the longed for feeling of bliss rushing over all his senses and squeezing his eyes shut to push his forehead into hers lovingly and mindlessly whisper a strew of curses and sweet nothings.  
She unintentionally grimaced when she felt the sticky white substance cake the inside of her, before feeling him cover her lips with his.  
She craned her head slightly to languidly return the sweet kiss as he held her tight and rode out the euphoric intoxication of bliss.

She couldn't particularly pinpoint when she had ever felt this content in her life, but for once in a long time she actually felt a sense of unadulterated happiness. Strange considering the circumstances but being held so earnestly by the man she had such an intimate experience with made her come to terms with a few of her emotional demons. Because she could tell just by the way he kissed her passionately and never let go of her even after they were utterly spent for the night, that he was going to be by her side for a long while, like some sort of silent agreement between the two and that's all she could've asked for.

 

10/10 would sin again.


	13. Eulogy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and her assigned partner are now working on training her chakra control, but something goes wrong and ultimately results in Akira seeing a very important someone in some type of "vision".
> 
> “Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell.”  
> ― Edna St. Vincent Millay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Sorry it took such a long time to publish another chapter, but I would like to remind everybody that this chapter takes place the day after the previous chapter, if that makes sense. Anyway, I would also like to remind you that the NSFW part in the previous chapter (Ciao) was optional, and not canon to the story, which means it didn't really happen. Anyway, I love kudos!! And I LOVE comments even more, they both make me so happy and also give me more motivation to keep going!! So please feel free to leave me any! (✿ヘᴥヘ)
> 
> Contains: Fluff

"She's doing a lot better than I expected." Zetsu mused quietly while observing the disciplined kunoichi calmly concentrate on focusing in on her chakra.

 **"Don't be so naive. It's only a matter of time before her chakra gets out of control. With such enormous amounts, there's no denying that there will be side effects to accommodate the lineage's luxury."** Black Zetsu scolded, once again doubting the young Senju's abilities, but perhaps this time he could be right.

  
Even though Akira used every thing in her willpower to skillfully readjust the coursing chakra to the pit of her stomach and block out the opinionated voices that seemed convinced enough that she couldn't hear every little comment they made, she felt the burning fire of energy prick against the skin of her abdomen, signaling it was beginning to spin out of control.

The air shifted heavily around her relaxing cross-legged form, making the aura of the empty base's recreational room become more dense, like the thick suffocating atmosphere that predicted a monstrous storms arrival.

"Akira-san.." Came Zetsu's unnerved voice that silently warned her of the precautions of taming the wild fires of her chakra.

Her closed lids tightened and her brow furrowed as her only reply, directing more of her attention on the heat that pooled around the insides of her stomach.  
Even with her raw determination to contain the carnal flames of energy that spiked upwards into her chest like heartburn, she couldn't harness the ability of manipulating such tremendous chakra that wildly surged through her veins, causing her to exhale the shaky breath that conveyed her uneasiness for the extensive training.  
Her assigned partner studied the uncomfortable expression that enveloped her face, as she continued to grimace at the protesting vigor that sparked up through her throat and laid claim to her cranium.

Akira _knew_ something had gone wrong when she hissed in response to feeling the throbbing sensation circulate around her eye and striking fear into the dumbfounded Senju, but before she could react accordingly, the pain dissipated and the violent pressure on her skull disappeared as quickly as it came.  
Feeling a short wave of relief wash over her, the feeling was quickly replaced with confusion when a lightheaded sensation slowly began to cloud her thoughts.

 

 

"Heh, you still look as clueless as the day I met you."

  
A familiar voice echoed through what sounded like her subconscious. Startled by the intrusive voice and even more confused than before, Akira opened her eyes, only for them to adjust to the endless black abyss that surrounded her still kneeling form.

  
"You really haven't changed a bit, have you.. Akira-chan..?" The seemingly disembodied voice affectionately lulled causing her to focus in on the shape of a person who mirrored her sitting position.

  
"Where.. am I?" She inquired with her senses still adjusting to the sudden change in environment.

  
Zetsu was nowhere to be found and the vacant underground room she was previously in was replaced with bleak atmospheric walls that resembled the continuity of outer space, and held the two shinobi like they were weightless.

  
"I suppose your mind.. for lack of a better word." The fuzzy imaged male answered.  
As her vision began to clear and reveal the beloved man before her, she felt a new sense of hope engulf every fiber of her being.

 _'You're..!'_ Her thoughts loudly resounded through the area she sat in, clarifying that she was indeed in her very own subconscious, and every thought she had would be heard within the dark expanse.

Somehow, the physically trivial area didn't frighten her like it should. Instead she was met with a feeling of surrealism and almost taking in the situation lightheartedly, similar to experiencing lucid dreaming, like knowing it's just a dream but you can't help but hope it's reality.

Finally her vocal cords caught up with her brain, forcing out the rest of her previous thought.

"Alive!" She breathily exclaimed with wide eyes, taking in every detail of Kurou's healthy appearance that sat closely across from her.  
"..but how?" She questioned while outstretching a hand to grasp at the believed to be deceased shinobi yearningly.

The young kunoichi was finding it more and more difficult to not become anymore awe struck than she already was. From his slightly disheveled cotton colored hair that modestly reached to his earlobes, the low boyish slope of his nose, and to the lazy look of his dark eyes, he was perfect, maybe even more than perfect, but something about him was off.  
Not in a ominously worrisome way but more as if he appeared more ethereal..

 _'Angelic, maybe?'_ She thought, the earlier reoccurrence of her little thoughts quietly echoing around the 'room' once again as she continued to lean forward to touch him with just the smooth pads of her fingertips.

"To be honest.." He started, watching her hand pass through his chest as if he were nothing but a ghost. "..I'm almost as confused as you." He admitted with a small solemn smile.

With the reality of the situation beginning to sink in for the female Senju prodigy, she observed her fingers continuing to slip through his clothed chest like some hologram.  
"What is this?" She inquired whilst twisting her hand around harmlessly.  
The testing movement caused the area around it to move like a small ripple of water, making her outstretched hand draw back to her chest in surprise.

"You're not really here are you?" The kunoichi said, letting the bitter sting of disappointment drape over her like a cold wet towel.

"I'm not sure.." The low tone of his voice gave away his saddened state of mind as the space between his brow contorted in what she presumed to be sorrow.

"I.. I can't remember what exactly happened, but I _can_ in remember what I felt. And I have a feeling I know why too." He finished with his intense gaze analyzing every detail of her own upset features.

He could only remember small bits and pieces of his death as though it were a mirror that had been broken and now he could only see himself in puzzling little shards randomly scattered about his mind.  
He had only experienced the memory loss once before when he had _known_ she used her jutsu on him, but this time he could only speculate.

"Kurou.." Her shoulders slumped.

True, she had taken away the memory of his death, leaving her to carry the burden of of witnessing his betrayal that weighed heavily on her shoulders till this very day, but it was almost instinctual to do so.  
She loved him in the most original and strangest way. He wasn't her blood kin, nor her lover, but they shared a bond that was so unbreakable that the bitter escape of death couldn't even separate them. It only made sense for her to 'steal' the memory, avenge his death and hopefully find some peace of mind, but she hadn't succeeded in that yet so unfortunately she's found herself in a constant battle of self conviction and betrayal.

And despite all her reasoning and justifiable excuses, there sat in the icy deep depths of her mind -- hidden away like the cabalistic ninth circle of hell -- was self-loathing.

"I'm aware of what I've done.."

The white haired ninja could practically hear the grit of her teeth as she lowly admitted to the conviction.

"And I'm also aware of what I _could've_ done, but you never deserved to experience something so.. so.." The hardened shinobi felt the angry tears escape and begin to wet her rosy cheeks languidly.

"Disgraceful!" She somehow managed to keep her voice down from a shout to instead sound like an exasperated huff.

The well respected man didn't even flinch from the emotional outburst, instead his confused expression changed to one of sympathy for the distraught female.

She had his attention, but she was wondering for how long.  
When do you ever get the chance to reconcile with a deceased significant other?  
Of course she found the unrealistic situation unusual -- and that's putting it lightly -- but with those feelings aside, or at least ignored for the time being, she saw it as a chance to state a few unanswered questions.

But not without a little bit of remorse and a heartfelt confession.

"..You were.. important to me." She restrained the urge to sob and shamefully avert her eyes to her lap, hiding anymore tears that threatened to fall.  
"And now I'm left here in this world you despised." Finally she forcibly stopped the waterworks to wipe away their heated trails and face him with a look of expectancy.

Kurou was gone. Well at least from this physical plane of existence, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth for him to internally admit it to himself.

"..It's kind of strange to hear you say it out loud but I can't say I'm surprised. It would be lie to admit that I wasn't expecting my own dangerous decisions to result in my demise. I mean after all it _was_ a risky mission.." His words tapered off unsure of what to say next.

Frustration was something so uncharacteristic for them both, but trying to understand his reason of appearing before her right now and what to do about it, was the only way to describe how they felt.

"That doesn't matter!" Akira exclaimed. "What matters is how I can bring you back, Kurou-Sensei! There has to be something I can do! I've seen you.. here before! It wasn't _this_ place, it was real life!" Her hands gestured as wildly as her tone of voice, uncaring how crazy she sounded. If anyone was to believe her about that night when she tracked him down to the Rikudō (Rikoudo?) Sennin statue, it was him.  
She needed him to.  
Because she sure as hell was finding it difficult to believe herself with every word that continued to spill from her full rosy lips.

"I know I didn't just _dream_ it.. So tell me how.." She knew it sounded a bit kooky, but her current predicament of speaking with the dead in some kind of self constructed reality made her more apathetic about wanting to sound logical, and instead thinking that this _too_ could be a dream.

So it probably wouldn't matter if she came off as a distraught and grieving woman that conjured up some sort of false reality to cope with her emotional demons.  
At least it seemed quite plausible to her.

"How were you alive once more, and now I can't even.. touch you..?" She grimaced.

"You're like a ghost compared to what I once saw.."

He seemed as perplexed as she was as he decided to counter one of her questions with his own. "What do you mean you've seen me before?"

"You don't remember? You were r-right in front of me.. just like right now at the Rikudō Sennin.. How could you.. forget..?" She questioned while quirking an eyebrow in suspicion.

A small frown contorted his pale lips as it played on his face uncomfortably, as though it were a rare anomaly that she hardly got to see on the naturally carefree and laid-back male.

"I don't even know how I got _here_ , Akira-chan," His large hands moved up to his abdomen, "but I do know who I am. And what you saw wasn't me. That I'm sure of." He finished giving his chest a brief gestured pat as though he were solidifying that he was there.

"If it wasn't you then who was it? You can't tell me something like that was all in my head! I could feel you.." She quietly sighed in exasperation, and momentarily reveled in the memory of the brief skin on skin contact.

Yes, it had been quick. Yes, he was doing it to violently snap the bone in her fingers. But the short moment of his hand around her wrist made something click within her. Making her never forget the feeling and yearn for it once more.

Akira watched as Kurou looked down at his lap momentarily in what seemed to be thought. The little twitch from the corner of his lips, his softening gaze and the his absent minded wringing of his fingers together, reminded her of the little habit he had whenever he was reminiscing.

"..You know, it's felt like I've been in an infinite fog that I can't describe, but even so, I still recall the little things about you and the petty things I associated them with."

Damn, if that wasn't what love did to you...

His frown was soon replaced with a beautiful smile as he chuckled light heartedly before delivering his bittersweet message.

"Like how naive you can be and even though that happens to be one of the things I.. _cherish_.. about you, I fear it'll be your downfall."

The little smile he held slowly returned to the unfamiliar frown she still could get used to.

"Akira.. Whatever that was.. it wasn't me. Please, I.." He sighed heavily before continuing. "..I don't want to see you meet the same fate I did, because next time.." He leaned forward to reach for her hands that sat lazily in her lap as they both felt the light aura surrounding him shift and wane off.

"..let's not meet like this again, because our time together doesn't have to end in a eulogy." He said lacing his fingers through hers, and for a brief moment she swore she could actually feel it.

 _'Not yet.'_  She thought, feeling the creeping sensation of anxiety simmer within her chest.

"Please!" Her voice hoarse from her desperation to not lose him again.  
She grasped futilely onto him only for her to pass through him once more, resulting in having to hold herself up by the palms of her hands when her embrace failed.  
"I need to know! Was it all.. a scheme..? Or did you.." She felt the lump in her throat become more difficult to keep down as a tear silently spilled from her waterline and tapered towards her jawline. "..really care for me..?" She hesitantly asked as he physically disappeared from her line of sight as though he just evaporated amongst the black void.

"..Akira-chan.. I.." His disembodied voice trailed throughout the confines of her mind.

The tear pressed against the hot skin of her chin dripped off with a quiet splat onto the floor, leaving her utterly alone with her grief.

_'He's gone...'_

 

◸ 〈 〉⊰Ω⊱ 〈 〉◹ ┱┲ ʕु-̫͡-ʔु” ┱┲ ◸ 〈 〉⊰℧⊱ 〈 〉◹

 

Zetsu towered over the kunoichi and observed her limp form, taking in each steady inhale of breath and noting the sense of serenity surrounding her.

As peaceful as Akira looked, she still had _fainted_ , or at least that was what he had been telling himself as he nudged the side of her face lightly with the tip of his foot in a vain attempt to wake her.

"How long do you think she'll be out for?" Zetsu asked his much darker counterpart.

 **"She's only been like this for a few minutes or so, but knowing her.. it only seems wise to expect the unexpected."** The comment was definitely not a compliment and his tone of voice held contempt.

A small sigh escaped his lips as he crouched down to get a better look at the spiritless shinobi, unsure what to do with himself.  
Now free from the confines of the green trap that encased their upper body, he could move much more freely and curiously take in the small details her appearance held.  
With no hopes of her waking up without some help from himself, he moved his palm over to the side of her cheek to give it a few gentle pats with the back of his white hand.

 

_*pat, pat!*_

 

His ivory colored skin impatiently made contact with hers again.

"Ne, ne, I know humans need sleep every now and then but I don't think this is the time to do so, Akira-san." Unlike his more negative and serious equivalent, White Zetsu wasn't annoyed with her 'antics'.  
If anything, he was actually finding himself quite _bored_ without having the equally chatty kunoichi running around and entertaining him like she usually found herself unintentionally doing.

 

_*pat, pat!*_

 

"Oi, Akira-san~.." His naturally soft spoken voice rang.

 

He attempted once more to invoke a state consciousness but this time with enough pressure for her head to jolt slightly, and cause a few thick strands of silky hair to cascade over her face from the movement.  
Instinctively, the hand tapping against her cheek hovered over the long (?) lock that moved astray towards her lips to brush it away, but instead he paused briefly, feeling compelled to shamelessly ogle her serene features from such close proximity.

 **"Watch yourself. She's trouble and you know it."** Black Zetsu's susurrous voice scolded upon listening in to his compeer's thoughts of praise for the female Senju.  
Reflexively he blushed, realizing that he momentarily forgot that he shared a mind with the other male who didn't agree with his strange feelings for the charming kunoichi.

Obviously, the much more impolite entity was becoming more weary about his partner's intentions for her. Initially the rough draft for their plan of being partnered up with the young prodigy, was to condition her abilities and influence her beliefs to his and ' _Madara's'_ (I use that title loosely) own ideology.  
Risky business indeed, but both espionage experts were entrusted with the task and they both figured it would be easy. Well for their standards, that is..

But lately, he had been questioning whether White Zetsu's recent affections for the Akatsuki 'rookie' was going to cause any petty hinderances.  
Of course both of them knew they wouldn't let anything _too_ dire happen, he was too analytical, manipulative, secretive, and not to inexperienced with things such as.. romance.. but that didn't help the cliché feeling of butterflies in his stomach whenever she flashed him one of those rare heartfelt smiles his way.

A small part of him wanted to change partners if he could, just to escape her enthralling nature that kept him constantly on his toes, but unfortunately he couldn't go back on his mission because failure was not an option. Then again, her enticing feminine nature and complex persona fascinated him, making him secretly crave for more.

So in defense, the only thing he could do was deny these _abnormal_ feelings (and fail at just that) and continue on with the objective the best he could, it's not like his infrequent shows of cordiality for the woman were _that_ obvious.

If Black Zetsu could roll his eye(s) from witnessing his coequal's hand carefully brush away the loose strands of hair that laid askew over her relaxed face, then he would, but instead he settled with an annoyed grunt.

Okay, maybe it _was_ a little obvious, but he wasn't going to admit it and the woman herself didn't seem to notice his attempts to flatter her, or his shows of interest whenever something involved her.

But in his defense, White Zetsu was undoubtedly the type of person that whenever he found something or someone interesting, he wasn't about to just let it go. Quite the opposite to be exact. Let's just say, when something enamored him, it was gonna get his   _full_ attention, even if he had to be subtle about.

He just happened to be that nosy, and what _was_ peeking his interest at the moment was the name engraved kunai holstered snugly to her hip.  
Almost mischievously his fingers wrapped around the hilt of it and brought it up to his face to examine it curiously.

His honey colored eyes trailed over the names carved into the middle of the steel while opening his mouth to annunciate them slowly.

"Daiki, Satoshi.." He started but only for Black Zetsu to voice both their thoughts on the bizarre title.

**"Strange for a first name to be used as a surname.."**

His brow rose and his lips stretched briefly as though he were saying 'I know right' before continuing.

"..Hitomi, Kurou... Hitomi, Akira.." He trailed off to flip the kunai around, checking for anymore writing but instead finding none.

"Hitomi, eh?"

He had heard quite a lot of things about her already, some of them obviously rumors and some probably true, but he had known one thing, and that was the fact that she wasn't technically raised by her parents and instead taken in by one of Amegakure's shinobi that was once heavily involved in the civil war somehow.

So with basic investigative skills he deemed the one called 'Kurou' as probably being the mysterious caretaker.

 **"I wonder of his current whereabouts. It would be unfortunate if he was still alive."** He rasped with intrigue, taking note that his death would be more in their favor.

Less ties to sever, the better.

"Hmm~ should we ask her..?" He questioned after returning the blade back to her side with his own curiosity equally peaked.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the kunoichi below him abruptly sputtered out a choked gasp as though she were deprived of air.  
She felt like she had been sucked back into reality like the feeling you get when you suddenly jerk awake right before you fall asleep, but incredibly intensified. The feeling only accentuated the strange sensation of fear setting her nerves on edge while her eyes shot open and her hand wildly clutched onto anything near her as she sat up straight.

The movement was so quick and spontaneous that it ended up becoming a quick flurry of motion that disoriented her to a point to where she was gripping his cloaked bicep for some stability.

Zetsu watched with interest as the female's eyes flickered around in confusion before finally coming to her senses and settling her wide eyed gaze on him.

"..You're awake!" He chirped, completely unfazed by the show.

She would of found his surprisingly calm demeanor a little creepy and unnerving if it wasn't for the already pre existing thoughts of confusion racing through her head.

"Senpai.." She shakily murmured, surprised to see him by her side.

Getting no other response from her besides a vacant stare and labored breathing that was slowly beginning to die down, he quirked a brow and let his darker equivalent speak this time.

 **"Bad dream, kunoichi?"** Came his deep raspy voice, still not so keen on referring her to her name.

Was he looking for the full story or was he wanting the TL;DR explanation? Hell, she didn't know if she could even come up with one. She figured he wouldn't even believe her anyway because she herself couldn't believe she was there. And even if he did, what would they do about it and how would he react to the crazy narrative?  
She determined she wasn't going to take the chance of sounding like a delirious and mentally cracked woman, so after swallowing thickly she decided to muster up the only reply she could think of.

"You could say that.." Her voice slightly hoarse as it slipped past the insides of her suddenly dry mouth.

He didn't look too satisfied with her answer, actually he almost looked a little annoyed as he escaped her tight grasp on his bicep to stand up and outstretch a free hand to offer his assistance.

She graciously took it, letting him pull her up from off the cold concrete floor.

"Well are you okay?" He questioned.

"I think I just blanked out is all." She muttered, suddenly feeling some pressure beginning to build up around the bridge of her nose.

"That's quite a long time for 'just blanking out'." The dichromatic man said, sniffing out the little white lie easily.

"Yeah, well it's nothing to worry about. Trust me." The uncomfortable pressure finally turned into a dull ache.

 **"Then why's your nose bleeding?"** Black Zetsu said smugly and lazily pointed a dark finger towards her face as though it was obvious.

Almost instantly her hand shot up to finger the thick crimson liquid that dripped from both nostrils. "Huh?" Akira continued to stare at her wet middle finger before it was nudged with a familiar rag.

"Here." Zetsu pushed the fine material he once used to wipe her face off with during her first mission towards her, gesturing for her to take it.  
With a small smile of gratitude, she took it from his hand and began to hold it up to her nose, hoping to stop anymore of the blood from dripping.

"But this time keep it." He ordered.

A strange smirk spread across his face once he noticed the small blush that dusted her cheeks.

"Arigato.." Her thanks muffled from the cloth.

Zetsu waved a hand dismissively before changing back to the previous subject that he hadn't lost interest in.

"If you don't feel comfortable telling us what's gotten you so shaken up, that's fine." He started, giving her an unreadable look.

 **"But it would be ignorant of you to choose to lie to us again, kunoichi."**  He threatened menacingly. He didn't like being underestimated, especially by someone his junior in the organization, but before she could defend herself he spoke up once more.

"So whatever it was that caused your brief state of unconsciousness, -- be it an uncontrollable and overwhelming upsurge of chakra, **or your obvious lack of skill to handle it,"** Zetsu paused, frowning at his negative coequal's rude addition before continuing. "-- It still interfered with your training, and I'm not the least bit happy with that."

"Why do you care so much about it affecting me?" She questioned, suspicious of his behavior.  
It seemed so unlike him to get annoyed by something not concerning himself, but in reality her physical and mental wellbeing was of importance to both parties inhabiting the body called Zetsu. Though he wasn't about to let her know the true reason as to why.

"Obviously I hold no disdain for you, Akira-san. I might even say that I enjoy your company," She smiled faintly at the remark, but in the back of her mind she knew what the other entity would probably say about her if he had the chance. At least one of them could tolerate her.

"but you being our partner effects us to a certain degree because you're still incapable of harnessing your own skill. So as you can see, we still agree with the philosophy of the Akatsuki and training you is the most logical course of action for enhancing our teamwork in order to enforce this belief system." He explained as she seemed surprised by his pensive answer.

With a sigh she folded up the baby blue cloth used to clean her nosebleed and stuffed it into the grey pocket of her tapered shinobi pants.

Finally, she looked back up to give him a somber lopsided smile before replying.

"Fair enough."


	14. Splat!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu! 
> 
> The training continues! Love likes to go out with a bang.. or shall I say a Splat!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at my weirdly written sound affects lol
> 
> Btw I hope this story is going ok! (*´д｀*) 
> 
>  
> 
> Kudos or comments make you super super super cute! Trust me, I've done both before and now I'm the kawaii-est of them all (✿◠◡◠)

"Well, if you can't do it within these conditions," Zetsu's fingers reached for the clasp that held his cloak together. "Than we'll just have to put you under a little bit of pressure."

 _*Rlooof..*_  

With a snap, the patterned cloak fell to the floor with the air rushing out from under the black fabric, revealing his two toned chest and the very minimal clothes he usually wore under the large Akatsuki apparel.

Akira obviously gave him a look of surprise. They had just repeated some training exercises that would hopefully help her hone in on her chakra, but most of it was resulting in failure. As frustrating as it was for the both of them, they were equally determined to finish this lesson on a good note.

"What do you think you're doing?" Akira questioned, weary of his now advancing steps that slowly made their way towards her.

 **"We're getting nowhere with just sitting around."** The shadowy entity hissed as he halted in his tracks a small distance away from the curious kunoichi.  
"So a bit of friendly sparring might just jumpstart whatever's holding you back."

She watched his form practically pounce into the air above her, curling his fingers into a fist and throwing his arm back behind him, signaling his attack.

"W-wait a minute!" She exclaimed, instinctively flipping and bouncing back from him before his fist collided into the concrete with enough force to crack it.

For a second there she swore she could of saw the unnaturally white skin of his arm ripple like it was jello from the sheer power of the impact.  
Fear crawled up her spine as she glanced at the unnerving smirk beginning to stretch his lips, making her tense and ready herself for another blow.

"You call that friendly?" She said grimacing and looking at the small dent of ruptured concrete he stood in.

A white hand propped itself on his hip as he gave a casual one-shouldered shrug.

"You really expect me to go easy on you?" Just by his tone she could sense he was amused, just by the way his voice slightly drawled on each syllable as though he were toying with her.

She sighed heavily in defeat, giving up on trying to dissuade him and instead figuring he might be right with finding this change of training to be more suitable.

"I suppose not.." She forced a sharp breath out of her nostrils, steadying her nerves, and shifted her feet into a familiar combat stance. "Okay, let's do this." She said confidently, ready for anything he was to throw at her.

**"Hmph, don't get cocky.."**

 

 

 ∩ ∪ (◑ ∩◐) (◑ ∩◐) ▁ ▂ ▃ ╮(─▽─)╭ ▃ ▂ ▁ (◑ ∩◐) (◑ ∩◐) ∩ ∪

 

 

She wiped a fresh bead of sweat off her forehead with the dark grey fabric of her sleeve, and watched him perform seals so fast she couldn't even identify them.

Just these (presumably) fifteen minutes of sparring with him was beginning to exhaust her and she was becoming quite surprised to find him able to keep up with her, even if he _was_ just used as a spy for the Akatsuki, or so she thought.  
Though she had to admit he wasn't too great at taijutsu, he made up for it with ninjutsu. Despite his jutsu's being a basic and simple form of wood release they were precise, deadly, and even horrifying whenever she was close to becoming a victim of it.

Watching his hands slam into the cold concrete floor with a _*Slap!*_ and conjure up thick twisting branches of wood that crumbled up through the ground to race towards her crouching form, she felt a new sense of fear and dread consume her senses.

Her fear came true, as it missed its designated target when she attempted to evade and instead caused the wood to twist around her wrist, and violently tighten its hold around the appendage.

Akira knew he wouldn't kill her, I mean it was just sparring, but the excruciating feeling of the winding branches bending her forearm into an uncomfortable position and putting enough force to easily break the fragile bone there, made her briefly question his motives.

 

_*SNAP!*_

 

 _Shit_..  It _did_ just break the bone there!

Still holding the performed hand seal to keep the jutsu into effect, he witnessed her immediately fall to her knees in agony, and open her mouth to cry out but instead she found her voice muted from shock.

 _'Stay calm..'_ She thought, forcing herself to breathe in deeply and come up with a strategy out of this.  
Strangely this was exactly the type of predicament he wanted her in, and a part of her began to realize that from the way her senses suddenly shot to life and flowed energy through her like rushing springs of water.

The panic the dark cedar crawling up her arm induced was just perfect for motivating herself to close her eyes and focus her wild chakra into the pit of her core, with just the right amount of skill she was lacking earlier.  
And the fear of the wood release crushing her bicep pressured her into forcefully finding her equilibrium and spread the energy to her free hand's palm and fingertips to preform the designated seals to counter his attack.

Suddenly she felt the skin around her entrapped limb burn like it was set ablaze and tingle so intensely it felt as though her skin was humming.

"I think she's got it.." Zetsu mused, watching her brow furrow in concentration as the skin under the wood began to glow softly with a white light, and burn the branches warped into a mold around it.

 

_*CLACK!*_

_*CHAF!*_

 

From opening her eyes to find the wood release previously entrapping her limb, now suddenly singed into a burnt black mess onto the dusty concrete near her, she realized Zetsu's plan was ingenious.

Wincing, Akira lifted her injured arm up to hesitantly view the wrist slack and limp like a wet paper towel, and the joints in her fingers disfigured and contorted into disgusting formations. It truly was a horrific sight.

"You didn't have to go that far." She scolded with a pained expression and letting the limb fall limp to her side.

 **"If we hadn't then this would've taken a lot longer."** He says making his way towards her and crouching down to her level. "And if you wanted, you could consider it as a 'hazing' of some sort. The organization member Deidara seems quite fond of those types of social rituals anyway." White Zetsu added, unintentionally amusing the kunoichi by his analytical and unaccustomed nature.

Grabbing her slack and twisted wrist he used his chakra to heal her injuries with its faint green light soothing the pain.

He could hear the sigh of relief push past her lips as her tense form finally began to relax, but she could still feel a warm sensation bubbling under the tender skin of her mauled arm.

"I also believe Kisame happens to enjoy such similar social tendencies.." His naturally care free and soft spoken voice, now sounded a bit low and pseudo innocent.

"..Tendencies such as gossip." His piercing gold eyes flickered up from their studious gaze on her healing wound to give her a desensitized look, almost as though he were looking for a certain emotion to cross her features, and hiding his in the process.

What was he getting at..?

_'Oh shiiiit!'_

Unwillingly her eyes grew wide with shock and fear when she realized what he was insinuating.

He had heard everything from Kisame's loud and amused voice exclaiming,

"You fucked 'im!"

and

"You probably should, and maybe then he'd learn to loosen up a little."

to Akira's embarrassed defense of "...Don't be so.. _crude_."

and

"--he happens to be very friendly once you get to know him!"

The memories rushed through her mind as she mentally panicked and blushed a deep scarlet from realizing he had heard the embarrassing and incriminating words she had traded with the large blue male.

She saw the corner of his lips twitch slightly as he noted her flushed and nervous expression, confirming that she knew _exactly_ what he was implying.

Akira hadn't really thought about the reason why she should be embarrassed but the situation involved _romance_ , and obviously she hadn't really been the most experienced with something like that, so almost out of reflex she began to laugh nervously before finding something to say.

"Aahh.. Well, you know how he is.. Bit of a jokester that one.. Hehe.." As cliché and unrehearsed as it was, the words were the only thing she could muster, but he didn't seem so satisfied with her answer as his hands moved up to her bicep to tend to it next.

"Oh, I see." He said shortly, his eyes releasing their convicting gaze and moved to study her injury as now they could both feel a faint vibration humming under the skin, but with the topic of interest, they both ignored it for the time being.

"He also seems to be taking a liking to you.. I have to admit, it's rather interesting to see mutual affection bloom within the organization." Despite feigning an unfazed appearance, he was a bit unnerved about the relationship of the two, even though he just had orders to keep tabs on her whenever Akira wasn't around him. Which happened to be rare considering most of her free time was spent with the dichromatic male.  
In truth, he didn't particularly feel something he deemed nonsensical and useless as jealously, but the confusion he felt whenever he contemplated her recent affairs involving the Kirigakure nin was too common for him to just ignore. Even Black Zetsu was somewhat unhappy with her little exchanges and outings with him, but of course he only felt that way for the sake of her getting attached and ruining their plan for the Senju Prodigy.

All in all, the shared mind and form of Zetsu was equally displeased with the relationship, finding it pointless and a bad influence.

"M-mutual affection?" If she had been drinking something then she probably would of spit it out into a spluttering mess, but instead she made a face of shock and offense.  
The slight quarrel between the two shinobi was fueling the chakra simmering under her skin, and with every little emotion she felt the tickling warmth become a surprisingly comfortable heat within the healing limb.

"You've got it all wrong! I don't l-like him like that.." She said

 **"I told you not to lie to us, kunoichi."** Black Zetsu's tone filled with annoyance.

_'Even he's in on this?!'_

She felt herself sigh heavily. Blame it on her exhaustion or the small sliver of pride she had left but she could only try to think of the most simplest ways to clear things up.

"I'm not lying! He just happens to be.. convenient."

 **"A convenient paramour."**  He subtly insulted, once again offending her pride in the process.

"What? No! If I were to admit having feelings for anyone it'd be _you_!" The words flew out of her mouth so fast she didn't realize what she had just confessed until her brain registered the shocked look on his face.

She felt the tips of her ears burn as hot as her cheeks while thinking if she were to die right now, she'd be totally fine with it.

 _'Oh Kami.. oh KAMI! What do I say?'_ She thought watching him let go of her arm and his face flush, noting he was just as speechless as her.

She could willingly admit to _herself_ that she did harbor feelings for him, and they were perhaps one of the most troubling and confusing things to experience, but she was _sure_  of them and that's the only thing that _didn't_ confuse her.  
Of course the humiliation of accidentally confessing that to him made her stomach churn in uneasiness, and make her fingers fidget with the fabric of her clad ninja pants, but she could take this as an opportunity to never speak to him again just from the mortifying scenario, or she could see the situation as the chance to act upon her words.  
So with a little thought she fought the unbearable urge to just run and hide, and did the unthinkable.

She kissed him.

No, this wasn't the innocent kiss on the cheek she once teased him with, this was smashing her lips into his with enough force to _almost_ knock him backwards, and move her lips against him with such passion she could drown him in it.

Both their eyes reflexively squeezed shut from the impact as just the subtle earthy taste of his color-split lips made the painful anxiety in her chest quiet and forced her to enjoy the heavenly lip lock.

Had he experienced something so intimate like this beforehand than he would of known how to react, but the only thing he could think of doing was try to relax into the kiss and add the slightest bit of pressure in return.  
Feeling this, no matter how little the action was, she felt a wave of relief and pleasure wash over her and meekly press her hands to his bare chest to tilt her head to deepen the kiss.

His lips felt smooth, but slightly chapped near the center as she flicked her tongue out to fix this, running along the skin and eliciting a soft muffled moan from the unsure bi-colored male.  
His stomach did hard flip flops as she repeated the action, making his heart accelerate once deciding he might be in over his head with the demure yet lustful woman.

With her hands snaking their way up his shoulders and neck to rest against the sides of his two toned cheeks, she pulled away just an inch or two with them both noticing the thin line of saliva connecting her bottom lip with his.

Even though the kiss had started out as passionate and testing, it had just about ended in a sinful and wanton experience from just witnessing the little display and seeing the yearning half-lidded look in her eyes.  
Damn, it almost scared him.

"..So cute.." She murmured, eyes flickering over every flushed detail of his face.

"A-Akira-san..?" His voice slightly hoarse as he peered up at the dazed woman with a similar expression.

 

Suddenly, an obsidian colored hand roughly pushed her back by her previously disfigured arm, making her fall backwards onto her bum with a little 'eep!'.

 **"Get off me."** Black Zetsu spat, startling her out of her fog and staring at him in shock. The startled feeling quickly began to fade, when pain ripped through the abused arm, and the surface of the skin began to tingle like ice.

For a moment there she had almost forgotten all about his sinister and rude attitude. Well, _Almost_.   
But naturally she would of retaliated with something to say, but the creeping fear pooling in the pit of her stomach was making her believe there was something very wrong, and it was of more concern to her than Black Zetsu's common rude behavior.

"Ah, s-sorry!" White Zetsu's strangely pitched voice exclaimed, suddenly feeling a bit of guilt for his compeer's brash move.

She didn't reply, only winced from the newfound excruciating pain that made her grip her shoulder out of instinct.

Noticing her expression and new change of attitude, he immediately became confused and naturally thought he had hurt her somehow.

"Are you alright..?" He asked, taking in the small whimper she made and the intense grip on her shoulder, just about turning her knuckles white.

Her stomach sank as the feeling only intensified, causing her to bend forward slightly, hoping the agonizing sharp pangs would stop.

"Ahh.. Z-Zetsu-Senpai.." She managed to whimper out, saying his name in such a rushed and warning tone made him become more aware to a rising sense of danger.  
He quirked a brow at her, doubting he had caused the look of agony enveloping her features, but he was still unsure of what was really going on.

"I think s-something's.. wro-"

_*BOP!*_

_*SPLAT!*_

Within seconds the skin of her right arm momentarily glowed blindly bright, then the humming chakra under her skin tore and ruptured through the flesh so fast, it appeared as though it had exploded.

 

"...........!"

 

"...........?"

 

A brief silence of shock and confusion was shared between the two, as she stared wide eyed at her much more experienced partner, his face and neck slightly spattered with her blood that covered the ground and anything else near her.

Suddenly she gagged. The feeling of pain and pressure surrounding her bicep was instantly relieved by a sensation of numbness, but the new awareness of heavy chakra bleeding through the air to where she could practically smell it, made her stomach coil into a small dry heave.

Getting an eyeful of the torn apart and lacerated flesh of her _hopefully_ salvageable appendage, Zetsu was almost at a loss of words, but she had high hopes he _was_ able to manage voicing a medical opinion of some sort, or maybe just something rather than _'what the actual fuck?'_ , which was something she was currently thinking at the moment.

"...That's messed up."

_Oh._


	15. Mythic Bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww geez I feel bad for taking forever to update. I've been having a lil bit of writers block and took a small break and finally wrote this considerably large chapter. 
> 
> Anyway LOOK at the word count. 666, woohoo time to sin

"I can't fix this." The stitched man groused.

"There's not enough skin to sew it back together. Your best bet probably is to just hack it off."

Akira choked on a gasp at the horrifying ultimatum, fearing she wouldn't be able to have use of her right arm anymore.

Honestly, she expected Kakuzu to be her only choice, so when she came to him with an arm wrapped in a shirt (courtesy of Zetsu) and high expectations, she was ultimately let down by the devastating news.

"No, that can't be right. Not to be rude, but you're practically riddled with stitches and you're telling me you can't mend some skin and sew on a... _few_ fingers..?" Emphasis on the few, as she knew it was a little bit of a lie, I mean half of her hand was practically blown off but who wants to tell someone to fix that?

"You're just as ignorant as Hidan if you really think I have these because I let someone get a good blow on me. Besides," Holding up her forearm, he moved the fabric away from her hand to peer at the torn flesh before giving her a knowing look. "..a _few_ fingers won't be any use to you if you can't get the rest of it working." He finished, letting go of her arm and moving to sit near the end of his comfy looking bed.

Replacing his previous hold, she held the white shirt around the limb more securely and pushed it further into her chest as her mind racked together, trying to think of any type of way to save the appendage.

Was this seriously gonna cost her an arm? Who knew some simple training would end in a bloody mess, and not to mention some confessions..  
Truthfully, she wouldn't take back what she said to the dichromatic man, but she still felt nervous after the kiss. Even after the unbelievable happened, she could still sense the jittery feeling she got whenever he looked at her.

 _'Ugh, I can't think about that right now! I've got this-'_ Problem. And it sure as fuck was. If she couldn't get it fixed then what was she going to do? Relearn how to use most of her jutsu using one handed seals? Not only would that take a large amount of time, but those types of seals usually require a lot more chakra than just two, so she couldn't help but feel frustrated and a bit stressed out about finding a replacement.

Noticing the pathetic look on her face, Kakauzu sighed tiredly. He almost felt a _little_ sympathetic for her. _Almost_. He really didn't know how she'd gotten herself this fucked up and ended up crawling back to him with pleading eyes, but maybe that was just a reminder for him to tell her to stop bothering him and never come back unless she had something in his interest. Particularly money, but how could he refuse a damsel in distress? Especially one as pitiful as this?

 _Easy_.

"Leave, woman." He ordered, sick of looking at the internal conflict written all over her stupid face.

His harsh tone made her flinch out of reflex.

"Wait! You can't just leave me like this! What am I suppose to do?" She said, hoping to reason with him.

"Not my problem." He deadpanned, resting his forearms on his slight wide-spread knees and ignoring her sad little frown. "Now if you're done pestering me then I suggest you heed my words and leave."

She huffed in frustration and gave a slight stomp with her foot, feeling defeat's heavy weight sit on her chest.  
He really wasn't going to let up, was he?

 _'Well then I won't either!'_ She thought, feeling the sudden rush of determination surge through her as she stubbornly plopped down on the floor Indian style.

"I'm not leaving until you help me!" She declared.

"Didn't I just tell you I couldn't? There's no room for negotiation if there isn't anything to negotiate _over._ " Kakuzu stated all the while rolling his eyes at her childish behavior.

"But you haven't even tried yet!" She contested, feeling herself getting more worked up by the second. "And I'm not going anywhere until you do!"

He glared fiery pits into her determined expression, silently pissed off with her uncharacteristic obstinate attitude.

A feeling in his gut told him that _she too_ wasn't planning on letting up anytime soon but he wasn't about to let her get her way.

Suddenly standing up to the proud height of 6 feet, the much taller and intimidating masked male made his way to the Senju woman sitting on the wooden floor of his bedroom, and loomed over her with a decimating glare that sent shivers of fear down her spine.

"W-what do you think you're doi-- eek!" She felt the breath knocked out of her as he picked her up and roughly swung her over his shoulder.

"What the hell is going o-on!?" She stammered, reflexively gripping onto the end of his shirt for some stability.

"Throwing you out." He grumbled curtly.

"Oh no you're not! Let go!" She demanded, fumbling around the best she could, beating a fist on his back to escape his grip.

"Stop moving around!" He spat, unbearably tightening his hold on her.  
Unfortunately the only thing she did was slow down the arrival time of him making it to the door. If she didn't do anything now she was going to be literally _thrown_ out of the room and probably across the hall, left to whine and complain outside his door until he opened back up.

Listening to the creek of the door open, she immediately went into panic mode and started struggling against him until a wonderful new idea hit her.

Her fingers gripping the hem of his shirt began lifting the dark fabric up slightly to expose the stitched tan skin of his back and then suddenly she mischievously stuck out her tongue and licked the curve of his mid spine.

"Ugh!"

 

_*Thud!*_

 

Feeling her warm tongue lazily trail cold spit onto his rough skin caused him to instinctively let out a noise of discomfort and surprise as he dropped her to the ground uncaringly.

"Ow..." Akira groaned, her back against the cold hard wood, peering up at the man reaching around to wipe the saliva off him.

"You little brat.." He seethed.

She seriously had the nerve to _lick_ one of the most menacing and terrifying Akatsuki members? Shit, he'd commend her for her guts but if it wasn't for the mask covering most of his face he probably could of killed her with just the infuriated and decimating expression of his.

"I told you to let go." She stated plainly as she sat up.

Oh that set his blood on fire. Her ability to surprise and anger him at the same time was astounding. He could practically feel the anger bubbling in his chest as leered at her stupid expression.  
I mean she had the audacity to reason for her childish and ignorant actions with basically an 'I told ya so' and a vacuous look. That by itself made him wanna kill her and hell maybe he should.. Okay maybe not kill her but at least get her the fuck up outta here.

Angrily, his hands quickly shot out in front of him and began reaching for her legs in an attempt to just drag her out the room, but the kicking of her feet stopped him from being able to do this.

"Damnit! I'm not going anywhere until you help me, Kakuzu!" She somewhat reprimanded but suddenly squealed when he sunk to her level and began to grip her waist and sling her over his shoulder like he did before.

Though managing to fight out of his grasp, she somehow found herself straddled to the ground with him sending her the most vicious glare he could muster, as she continued to fight off any of his attempts to gain control, drag her or pick her up.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" He hissed.

"Oh yeah, definitely! I get a total _rush_ when someone's practically strangling me!" She replied sarcastically.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" A third party's voice inquired from behind the two.

Both their heads simultaneously snapped towards the doorway, witnessing the infamous silver-headed Jashinist eyeing them suspiciously.

"Oh~ I get it.. Kakuzu you sly dog. I had no idea you liked it kinky." He chuckled, a suggestive look covering his features.

"Great.." The stitched man commented sarcastically, realizing now he had two idiots to deal with instead of just one..

 

 

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" ...It was because..." Akira could practically hear the uncertainty in her own voice as she announced her reasoning to the seemingly curious men. "..I saw someone.."

 _  
'Kurou..'_ She thought in longing of confession while Kakuzu continued to work on her bicep, possibly unfazed by the woman's reply to his brash partners question, but he could only divide his attention in half from the meticulous work he was putting in for her.

"Well.. at least I believe I did." She said, feeling a tad regretful for confessing such a thing to the two men she still hardly knew anything about, besides one being a sort of a loud mouth and the other that acted like a grumpy old man.

"So you're telling me of all people to receive a.. _vision_ ," Hidan started, annoyance evident in his tone of voice as he flipped mindlessly through a book left open on Kakuzu's cluttered desk.

  
" _You're_ just the person to get one?" He questioned suspiciously, giving the woman a look of disbelief.

"Well, it's not like I planned on anything like that! I don't even know what it was exactly! A _vision_.. or a-a dream..?" Akira defended, attempting to keep her cool knowing Hidan was bound to get a jab in there somewhere.

"I mean.. _you_." She felt a bit intimidated noticing his eyes flicker over her briefly, judging every detail with unnecessary conviction. "The _rookie_.. the.." He gave something of a wince before coming up with a thoughtful 'insult'.

"..The fuckin' _heathen_. I don't understand how someone like you can even come to a close connection with something you describe has holy." The silver-headed bane of her existence complained, slapping the cover of the book shut before sitting comfortably on the top of the desk, feet still planted to the floor from his impressive height.

"I never said it was holy, Hidan! And who said I was a hea-- ah! Hey, ease up a little!" She scolded, feeling a strong tug on her skin from the stitched man's fingers working the thread into her flesh. She had to admit he was doing an amazing job, the skin almost looked like it hadn't any trauma done to it at all, besides the few trails of black thread riddling under and around the bicep and forearm.  
Though every time she found herself starting to bicker with the arrogant Jashinist, she would feel an uncomfortably sharp pull by a very irritated Kakuzu.  
She probably would of ignored it if he didn't have to switch out the use of the threads brutally sewn into him for an actual _needle and thread_ because of precision issues.

"You're breaking my concentration, woman." He explained from his spot on the bed next to her, ignoring her pointless glare.

"I could give two fucks less about what happens to you, but if you're given the ability to see dead people or some shit, then I'll be damned if I don't get to too." Hidan grouched, crossing his arms childishly.

"Hey, I didn't ask for a part of me to be blown to bits, and I sure as hell didn't ask to be reminded of how much I..!" Akira's words slowly died in her throat as her stomach did an uncomfortable flip when the image of Kurou popped into her mind.

Remembering his bittersweet smile and his contradicting reticent dark eyes spurned a dark and demanding feeling within her. The sudden emotion furthered her on to finish the last words in a cold and quiet tone. ".. _miss_ him." 

 

"I knew it.." Hidan muttered, a sly grin stretching the corner of his lips smugly.

"Knew _what_?" She spat, anticipating another nosy and hurtful remark from the loudmouth Akatsuki.

His hands rose up defensively as he slid off the desk and initiated a slow and thoughtful walk in an aimless direction.

"Ahhh.. Nothin'." He waved off in a blasé manner, confidently setting up a little trap.

"No! I wanna know! Tell me what you knew, Hidan." She dared, feeling her cheeks heat up in anger and ignoring the warning tug of Kakuzu tightening the bandages around her arm more than necessary.

"Come on, Kakuzu! Is it gonna take you till I meet a mortal demise to finish patchin' this chick up or what? We gotta mission to get to!" He whined, his words teasing the aggravated Senju even more.

"As long as it results in your death then I don't care." His annoyed partner replied.

"Don't ignore me, asshole. Tell me what you knew." She seethed, diverting his attention back to her.

"Well," The silver haired priest gave a slight tilt of his head before meeting her heated glare. "If ya really wanna know so badly, then I should say that it's rather obvious now to see you're not just some anonymous bed warmer who's fella ran out on 'em."

' _That can't be all..'_ The irritated kunoichi thought, watching his teeth glimmer with mischief after he unveiled them with a chesure like grin.

"Because you 'just being some anonymous bed warmer who's fella ran out them' isn't just it, _because_ it's plain to see you got some sort of grudge against the Akatsuki for that fucker dying." He rudely explained before giving a little shrug. "So I guess my gut instinct about you was right after all. You're a born bred traitor or just just some goddamn wannabe villain."

Kakuzu could practically choke on the tense and frigid air around the two as the Senju woman fell unnervingly silent while the other felt the urge to laugh carelessly in success.

"..You know what I don't understand about you?" She finally spoke, tone low and dangerous, but her pain evident from its hesitation and quietness. It was enough for Hidan's laughter to die down and give the fuming female a curious glance.

"You've never took the time to give anyone a chance, you're just arrogant and pompous.." She started, pushing away Kakuzu's attentive hands and standing up in a rather dismissive manner.

"..and that's why you've been left by everyone to become nothing but a loudmouth, shit talking, false prophet. At Least that was _my_ initial _'gut instinct'_  about you." She hissed, annunciating almost every syllable with venom like precision before making her way in the direction of the exit.

"Hey, hey, hey!" An indifferent Hidan flagged down, attempting to reach for her arms to stop her in her tracks.

"Come on, don't take it lik-"

"Shut up!" She warned, slapping down his seize before storming out of the room with that last piece of advice.

The brash man gave a look of almost amused disbelief to his partner.

"Crazy mythic bitch." He muttered, suddenly unfazed by the ordeal or Kakuzu's frustrated sigh.

"You're an idiot, Hidan.." Was his only reply.

 

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_*Tap, Tap, Tap!*_

Akira lowered her left hand after knocking on what was _hopefully_ Zetsu's door.  
Somehow getting the confusing coordinates to his room which was only a few floors down from hers, she felt a little worried about accidentally knocking on a different members door, but the anger she managed to cool down to a certain degree was clouding some of her rational judgement. Nevertheless she continued to knock.

_*Tap, Tap, Ta-*_

But wait! She couldn't help but get the feeling of dread about accidentally rushing her sense of discernment and running into someone else who would be happy to chip away at her ego some more.  
Just the thought of someone slamming open the door and their foul mouth criticizing and demeaning her was enough to make her spin on her heel to walk away out of fear.

"Oof!"

Before she could even make a second step and look up, she collided into something firm.

"Akira-san.."

She knew that voice, and once looking up to see his familiar face she mentally cursed for doubting herself.

"Senpai..! I... u-uhh-" She stammered, suddenly finding herself a little nervous being so close to him. I mean he still didn't have his Akatsuki cloak on or the strange green trap that usually encompassed his torso, and it wasn't helping the fluttering feeling in her stomach either, but she was still glad to see it was indeed him instead of anyone like the dreaded Jashinist.

 **"What do you want, kunoichi?"** Black Zetsu demanded, definitely not in the mood for dealing with her, but honestly when does he _ever_ want to do anything that involves her?

"Well, aren't you in a sour mood today." His counterpart commented. Just by his annoyed tone she could tell he wasn't very pleased with his compeer's words, and if she didn't know any better she would of thought that it sounded like he was defending her.. maybe.

 **"I just don't like dealing with little girls who can't seem to keep themselves out of trouble."** He grumbled as White Zetsu immediately made a face of disgust.

"Just excuse him.. **Ignore _him_.** " 

She could hear his sigh of exasperation, figuring she probably needs to end this soon if she plans on getting his help.

 

Clearly they hadn't been getting along lately. Well I mean it's not like they did in the first place, but she could sense that something was upsetting them and she really didn't know why.

 

"Hey! Listen, is it okay if I come in? I.. I just need your help with s-something." She meekly asked, hoping to stop anymore of their quarreling.

His gold eyes instantly snapped to hers and then softened.

"You want to go in my room?" He questioned as though she were asking something rather personal.

_'Was that too direct..? No, that can't be it.. Maybe he's hiding something or is he just not used to someone in his room..?'_

Suppose it didn't really matter considering the much more important worry she had on her mind.

"..Ah, yes?" She answered, still a little confused by his odd behavior.

 **"No."** Black Zetsu hissed.

"Of course." The other hesitantly said, hoping she'd just ignore him.

And that she did, as he pushed the door open, letting them both through before closing it.

The room was rather standard to her surprise. The basic looking bed near the far right wall looking like it hadn't been slept in for ages, the average wooden dresser on the opposite side of the room with it spic and span and hardly even a scratch on it.  
The only things she could tell that made the dimly lit room his own, was that the windowsill in the room had a little potted plant on it. Obviously well taken care of and healthy.

Beside this it was ultimately plain, and she couldn't see why he looked a little nervous about her being in there, but it probably wasn't something she should pry too much on.

 **"Well? Go ahead and spit it out already."**  He impatiently rasped.

"Oh, right!" She hadn't even realized she was staring.. at the room, that is.

Remembering the reason why she came, she spun around and stepped towards him.

"I need you." Akira stated as she pressed the tips of her index and middle fingers against his chest and gave him an expression he found unreadable.

Taking her words wrong, he believed she was demanding something.. _intimate_.. with him, and just by the touch of her smooth skin on his was enough make his cheek(s) burn and unwilling have the thoughts of their previous kiss rush through his mind.

"W-what!?" He nearly yelped and watched her eyebrows knit together, confused as to why he was suddenly so flustered.

"I said, I need you." She shook her head slightly. "Your bacteria, or your.. mold.. or-"

 **"She means the spores, halfwit."** Black Zetsu clarified in his signature rude manner.

It was very rare for Zetsu to get embarrassed but somehow he found himself feeling that. It was so strange, it was almost like he was starting to feel such new emotions that she seemed to coerce out of him, and sometimes without her even trying.

' _Why does she always make me feel like this..?' **  
'It's because you're getting too attached to her, idiot.'**_

He could internally defend himself all day, but instead he chose to ignore Black Zetsu's scolding and try to better understand what Akira was getting at so he wouldn't get too carried away with his thoughts.

"What do you need of them?" He inquired, still a bit flustered.

She turned from him before moving to sit on the end of his well made bed, and gave a little sigh before explaining.

"You remember on my first mission when you used the spores to mold around my fist?" With a nod from him she began to unwrap the bandages from around her right arm, revealing the missing thumb, index and ring finger, along with the destroyed side of her hand and palm. After disclosing the display she quirked a brow and gave him an expecting look.

"Are you suggesting you want us to replace what's missing with this?" He asked lifting his hand to show a familiar putty-like white substance in his hand.

"That's right, and I think it might work. Didn't you say it was a part of you or something?" She questioned.

His gold eyes momentarily flickered to the floor in thought.

"Yes, that is correct but it might take you awhile to get use to it. That is.. if you choose that you really want this.." He trailed off, looking a little uncertain about something.

"What do you mean? Why do you seem so unsure about this, senpai?" She asked, noticing his strange expression.

 **"It doesn't matter."** His coequal overruled strutting towards her place on the bed and seizing her wrist tightly with his obsidian colored fingers before Zetsu reluctantly covered his alabaster hand over hers.

"This might hurt a little." He said squeezing her hand and letting the tacky substance mold around in the much needed places.

"Well, this shouldn't be as bad from what I've experienced toda- A-AH!"  
The joints of her fingers burned like they were shoved into an open flame, making her suppress another yelp and try to not squirm

The smell of the few lines of musty smoke bellowing out from under his hold filled her nose as she let out little gasps in order to contain a choked cry of pain, threatening to escape her throat any second.

Before it could he released his hands from hers, letting her eye the newly shaped goo now formed into some sort of replacement for her missing skin and fingers.

 **"They're still weak,"** He started, watching her pained expression change to one of surprise as she curled and flexed the limb curiously.

"But they'll have to do." The other half finished.

Akira could feel the difference in texture compared to her actual skin.  
The pasty white substitute felt tacky, viscid, and slightly unnatural, but firm and smooth enough to function for any task that was thrown at the skilled kunoichi.  
Though she was an enthusiast about surrounding herself with things she found aesthetically pleasing, the sudden feeling of appreciation towards the Akatsuki spy allowed her to see past the unbalanced blending of the different tones of skin and let the rush of relief wash over her once knowing she would be able to have the use of it again.

Quickly she stood up from her place on the bed. "..I..." She muttered, trying to find the correct words to say in order to thank the towering Akatsuki but soon fell short on ideas once coming upon a revelation of some sort.

All at once she lost her nerve to thank him once feeling like all she's ever done lately is cause trouble.

Remembering Hidan's words of discretion made the giddy feeling in her chest slowly dissolve into a heavy weight of conviction, realizing he might _in a sense_ be right.  
Knowing him to be rude and abrasive, she couldn't take note of every comment he made but, the little voice in her head contested against her and brought up valid points.

"..I'm sorry..!" She announced, eyes flickering to the floor out of shame.

"Eh? What are you apologizing for?" He questioned, his honey gaze narrowing to get a glimpse of the obvious conflict in her eyes.

"It seems all I've been doing lately is cause trouble, and you've been the one helping me get out of it. I feel like saying thank you isn't sufficient, so I'm.."

"That's enough." He interrupted, his stern tone of voice making her look up to catch his vision, only for her to notice his cold expression begin to soften once peering down at her troubled face.

"We've been tasked with functioning as a cooperative unit and I don't want you believing we need any of your apologies or thanks as a motivation to continue this." He stated.

Even though his words seemed a little distancing and methodical she could tell they were coming from a good place, but if only it were that easy to just heed every comforting word he said and feel better.

"I know, but there is only so much I can say, and you've done this.. _for me_." She said lifting her right hand up to give the replaced fingers a little wiggle before clenching it back into a fist. "And you expect me to not feel any gratuity?" She asked perplexed by his odd nature.

 **"You sound as though you're against yourself."** The other entity countered.

It's not uncommon for people to have the inevitable self esteem issues.  
From appearance to personality, sometimes we as humans just can't seem to find a balance of self appraisal, but that doesn't mean we don't secretly think we're the coolest shit on the planet and we're probably right, but a select few don't have that pleasurable company of contradiction and instead bare the burden of the little voice of unhappy opposition.

Unfortunately Akira happened to be in the category of the latter.

Similar to a flesh eating disease, if you allow the thoughts of self critique and malice to continuously spread through your mind, you can be left with an open wound you find yourself defending at times, and through that stubbornness you can meet your own demise by self infliction.

A suicide of sorts and/or a mental destruction of character. Either way, to hear someone openly notice the troublesome habit left the Senju woman in denial.

"That's not true! ..I just don't feel as though I deserve that sort of treatment." She admitted feeling somewhat uneasy about where the topic was going.

 **"I never said you had a choice."** He deadpanned, noticing the female shinobi a bit uncomfortable by his compeer's strict attitude.

"In other words," He let out of tiny sigh before continuing. "This isn't something you should deem as deserving or not, Akira-san. I know you couldn't help what happened earlier but you should make it a priority to at least take better care of yourself.." He advised, motioning one of his hands towards her previous injuries.

 **"I'm just doing what needs to be done."**  The other finally clarified.

Suddenly he flinched once unexpectedly feeling her arms wrap around his neck loosely and push the side of her face into his chest.

Then the dichromatic male froze, completely still and unaware of her intentions until he heard her speak.

"I don't care what you have to say." She said, her voice a little bit softer and distorted from her nose and smooth lips nuzzling into the crook of his neck. "I want you to know that I'm thankful for you."

The demure tone and the soft brushing of her plump lips set his cheeks ablaze with embarrassment and his eyes wide with surprise as she pressed herself even further into his chest, making the hug a little bit more meaningful.

"A-Akira-san..?" He muttered, feeling out of place and unsure how to respond to the deep embrace.

Poor Zetsu couldn't comprehend what compelled her to do this but the one thing he did know was that she was a rather passionate person and seemed to be the type to act on such tendencies. Knowing this fact didn't help the fluttering feeling in his stomach or the heavy beating of his heart but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy the strange sensations, especially the feeling of her smooth skin on his.

"Everything's been.." He could feel her sigh tickle the skin on his neck before she tightened her hold a bit and continued wispfully. _"..overwhelming_ lately.." 

Overwhelming felt like an understatement to her, and in truth Akira was surprised by her ability to adjust to this new lifestyle so well, but you could only imagine how the past few days had taken its toll on her nerves. It was like a sensory overload.  
So with each breath she expelled, she waited for him to reciprocate the affection and finally after a few seconds he did, albeit reluctantly.

Nevertheless feeling his forearms slowly slinging around her waist left a warm and comfortable feeling in her chest as she quietly inhaled his scent and allowed it to momentarily calm her senses, a comfort she definitely needed..

"I just don't want to be alone right now.." She confessed before hearing a small hum of acknowledgment from the other Akatsuki.

Obviously it felt strange for him to allow himself to participate in this kind of show of fondness, but then again the more he relaxed into the heartfelt embrace, the more he began to realize how strong her feelings were for him, and how she wasn't going to let this whole affection thing go or be ignored.

Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad to just carelessly act on his emotions and instincts, furthering the relationship without any thought but the obsidian hand suddenly pushing the Senju woman away from him didn't let him ponder this for too long.

 **"Such an emotional woman."**   Black Zetsu scolded, keeping his dark palm on her shoulder to create a little bit of space between them.

 **"I hate to interrupt your wish to find comfort in us but,"** Hestarted. His tone dripping with sarcasm, obviously displeased with her advances.

 **"We don't have time for such insolent matters such as this."**  He impatiently confessed.

Akira peered up at him quizzically, confused and a little bit disappointed at him ending the pleasing embrace short, but for some reason she didn't mind Black Zetsu's constant form of snubbing, it really surprised her. Though she felt if it were anybody else talking to her like this, than she probably wouldn't be around them too long for them to do so.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned.

The other half gave a little "Oh!" of sudden realization before he felt the need to bluntly clarify.

"Sasori of The Red Sand has been killed in action."

"... _Who?_ " How long was he gonna keep that information secret she wondered? Perhaps it was just a strange way to ruin the moment..


	16. The Daydreamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You like crabby patties, don't you Squidward..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have once again taken forever to update with another chapt. This is getting too habitual for me lol I'm sorry about this.. Anyway I know this chapter is a lil short but I promise to update with a much longer one hopefully.

 Akira felt her grip on the Raven haired male tighten, and enclose him in her sheltering embrace as close as physically possible.

"Let's start everything over again." Her tone low and filled with sincerity as though if she were to shout, she would break his distressed and fragile exterior.

"With just the two of us..." She clarified.

A small part of the emotionally defeated man's mind was secretly insatiable to the Senju woman's ardent and somewhat tender words.  
With every comforting syllable rolling out of her mouth he could feel his arms pathetically clinging around her waist stiffen, and then finally tighten like she was his life line as soon as the words began to sink heavily into his numb and forgotten heart.

Usually the much more powerful and reserved man wouldn't feel things such as carnal and yet innocent emotions such as he is, but he had already put his mentally vulnerable state on display just by nuzzling his face further into the crook of her neck, hiding his upset and pained expression.

"Because you deserve it."

He could practically hear the _love_ in her voice, like a low hum that could only be felt on a subliminal frequency of his subconscious.. and it shocked him..

 _'I could almost feel his touch...'_ Akira thought reflecting on the dream like it was just a memory of hers.

Well at least it had certainly felt like it. The authenticity of it was impossible to be categorized as something surreal, almost as though she had just experienced it a day ago, but she hadn't and that's why she couldn't seem to stop herself from constantly replaying it in her mind recently. Not to mention how unusual it was, on account of her experiencing the second party's emotions and thoughts instead of her own.

She could tell the unknown males feelings were strong and conflicting, like an internal battle with himself, but she could feel the warm comforting sensation bubbling in his chest when she uttered those words he seemed to yearn for.  
It was easy to empathize with him, for she could sense his heartache like it was corresponding with her own.

..But it was just a dream, right?

Well at least she hoped so, but a part of her subconscious was nagging at her, like the little red flags that go off when you notice something is amiss or ominous..

 

"Eh? Akira-chan! Hello~?" The kunoichi's playful escort chimed, waving a gloved hand in front of her face.

Oh, that's right. She had almost forgotten she was still in the presence of the energetic Akatsuki member. Though being caught lost in thought was enough to startle her and bring her wandering mind back to earth.

"S-sorry, Tobi-san.. What's the problem? You spot something?" She asked, giving her head a good shake, clearing her mind before looking up to glance at yet another towering male. Seriously though, was everybody in the Akatsuki just really tall?

 _'I mean even Konan is tall..'_ Akira mentally complained. Not that it was really a problem for her, Akira _is_ probably somewhere around average height, but constantly having to look up at someone especially as clingy as Tobi was beginning to make her feel a bit intimidated, even despite his childish demeanor. Perhaps it was just instinctual for her to feel a little unnerved by him.

You honestly would expect her to feel unnerved around someone like Zetsu being the way he is, and instead feel comfortable around Tobi, due to his carefree and happy attitude, but it's actually the other way around.. It was probably because he seemed as though he didn't belong in such a dangerous organization consisting of mercenaries and idealists deriving from colorful backgrounds, but she couldn't exactly read him and for all she knew he could possibly be the most villainess and deranged of them all.  
So giving him the benefit of the doubt only seemed fitting..

"Ahh! No, no! It's -kun!" The devil himself scolded, balling his fingers into a fist before resting it on his hip with a little sass.

"..uhh.. I'm sorry?" She quirked a refined brow at the masked man, and pushed her thatch kasa up a little with her index finger. The rain gliding off her hat in little streams from the heavy downpour that reigned over the rural outskirts of the Land of Rivers.

 

"You have to say ' _Tobi-kun_ '! -San makes me sound like a stranger!" The lilt of his voice made his words come off as something of a whine as he presumably pouted from under the orange mask.

"W-well.. I'm afraid you are a stranger, Tobi-san." She hesitantly admitted, giving him an apologetic look.

 

Was it normal for her to feel this bad for saying something like that to him?

 

Well it was the truth.. She had only known him since the mission started and that was probably sometime early morning, with it now being around mid afternoon.  
It really didn't seem like a lot of time for two people to get _so_ friendly with each other, especially since she saw herself as somewhat urbane or mannerly when it came to meeting others.

"Akira-chan isn't Tobi's friend..?" He asked, his tone a little bit more softer and offended, making the notable rasp in his voice more prominent than usual. Something she found interesting to hear actually, only when he wasn't talking her ear off..

Listening to his defeated tone and seeing his shoulders slightly slump with defeat compelled her to feel remorseful but she felt the need to explain her reasoning either way.

"Of course I'm your friend.." She couldn't believe she was having this conversation right now in the middle of the pouring rain, when they should be acting as sensors for her partner up ahead, but feeling obligated to answer she continued, albeit reluctantly with her eyes flickering down to her feet to hide from his surprisingly intense stare.

"..but I don't even refer to Zetsu-san as such and he's my--" Her words died short when she was rudely interrupted by his right hand quickly seizing her face, forcing her to look at him. The space between his thumb and index finger a little below her lips, as the rest of his fingers squished her cheeks slightly, granting her a bit of a comical appearance even though the situation she was in could be seen as frightening.

"Great!" He chirped in his signature high pitched voice, almost as though he were just told some wonderfully amazing news, but in his book it probably was..

"Then say it!" He demanded, the cold leather contracting against his grip as he gave her cheeks a little squish like it was some sort of joke.

 

She honestly didn't know what to say. The move was so unexpected and uncharacteristic of him it rendered her speechless. Was this some sort of power play?

She swallowed thickly as he continued to stare her down with a strange expecting gaze, and at that moment she could _see it_. The little hairs on her arm rose up from the goosebumps refreshing her skin with a new sense of awareness, her undoubtedly bewitching eyes grew wide as her mind went into full effect.

"Sh-Sharingan.." Her tone hardly above a whisper as it was quietly lost amongst the cold and frigid winds that blew through her hair, making it cascade and whip around the frame of her face thunderously.

 

He didn't reply to her comment as he ogled the awe written all over her face with trained calculation. Thanks to the one of a kind mask covering any expression he could possibly muster, she found him constantly unreadable even when he was gleefully chirping her ear off or pointlessly trying to get her attention.  
His behavior was really odd, and what was even more strange was his eyes..

"Tobi-kun.. you.." She wanted to say something but she was too lost in the most beautiful vermillion she had ever seen. The few tomoe perfectly placed within the iris were as dark and completely mesmerizing as _'Kurou's eyes..'_

"Ah! See! That sounds a lot better, doesn't it?" The Sharingan user sang happily, as she watched the tomoe unnaturally spin.

His words were lost on her though, the heavy fog of clouded thoughts once again began to consume her with his voice slowly drowning out from the onslaught of recollections beginning to fill her mind, ultimately leaving her in a daze.

 _"It's ruthless, calculating and dangerous."_ The voice impeded her murky thoughts with its heavy and disorienting air nothing short of strange, but let's be real here. If someone were to tell Akira that she was certified crazy, then she'd believe them, and compared to this she would accept that title happily, but she knew what this was.

Not the recollection itself, but the familiarity of the origins of the voice irritating her eardrums just by the angry tone in which it spoke.

_"Yet you act as though you know nothing as to what devastation you could cause if you were to follow through with Hanzō's orders."_

Hearing the males voice reverberating through her consciousness made her stomach drop, finally coming to a conclusion that it was Tenma's. Though somewhat befuddled the Senju didn't have any recollection of him saying this to her.. so who could he be speaking to?

_"Tenma.. you have every right to be upset with me about this, but what you don't understand is how important this mission is for our coup."_

_'..its Kurou's..?'_ She thought, still peering into the the dark crimson pools of the Akatsuki's eyes absentmindedly.

 _"Hanzō is power-hungry.. I know this but believe it or not, I share his belief in thinking the Sharingan is a vital asset. The only difference between us is that I believe it'll stop this war from tearing our village apart any further than it already has, instead of just wanting the Uchiha's power and secrets for the sole purpose of controlling the war."_ Kurou's voice continued with it sounding more on edge and tense with each unfamiliar word filtering through her mind rampantly.

 _"Just by this conscious division between him and I shows exactly what we're gaining and losing in this war, and please try to understand that the last thing I want to lose right now is Akira, even if it means risking my own life."_ He finished, voice waning off and ending the onslaught of foreign memories that pushed past her confused mental state. Not being able to see his face and only hearing his painful words set an empty feeling in her chest, a sensation she had grown accustomed too, but will never get over.

There had to be a reason for it though, the intrusive voices invading her mind like they were her own memories, but they weren't even hers and it seemed like the only reason of them surfacing was to frustrate and confuse her and that's exactly what it achieved.  
Akira could probably ponder about the unknown origins of the strange recollection all day, but the brief moments of feeling like time had stopped while staring wide eyed and bewildered at the masked missing nin came to a sudden halt.

Finally the world had felt like it resumed which made her uncomfortably aware of Tobi's expecting stare. Was he waiting for a reply, or was he just studying her..?  
Either way she was having a hard time just thinking clearly and controlling her emotions enough to elaborate what had just happened.

 

"Well, it's just as I'd thought. **They've already left.** " Thankfully Zetsu's presence shattering the tense exchange of looks caused the energetic Akatsuki to quickly drop his hold on the Senju and direct his attention elsewhere just before Zetsu could fully emerge in front of the two.

"Oh! Tobi could've of told you that!" The raven haired male announced confidently, pointing his thumb towards himself with some charm.

It was as though he were completely unfazed by anything and honestly she probably was the only one unsettled by this behavior, or at least the only one who noticed how bizarre he was.  
It took serious effort to not question the current situation at hand, but the phrases such as _'What the fuck did I just hear?'_ and _'Why am I getting these memories now?'_ were threatening to take over her mind.   
She probably would of continued on in her some sort of self made limbo, but catching the piercing gaze of honey colored eyes glancing in her direction caught her off guard. The dichromatic spy probably noticed the deep frown plastered on her face or the way she slowly distanced herself from the neighboring missing nin as he momentarily gave her a look of concern, or most likely a look of interest.  
Though his eyes shifted back to Tobi and returned to the subject before she could take much note of it.

"You sensed their chakra fleeting also? Hm, if that's so then they obviously haven't noticed us or else they would of turned around and given us trouble by now." Zetsu calmly stated, peering over at the massive cave that was a good distance away from them, their destination of finding and recovering the loss of a fellow Akatsuki member.

Akira watched on as Tobi nearly shook with the urge to exclaim whatever was on his mind.

"Woah~ Wait! Tobi's got a bad feeling about this though." His fingers began fiddling with each other in an anxious manner as Zetsu craned his neck back to him with a quizzical expression.

 **"What are you going on about?"** The other side rasped, impatiently awaiting his answer. Akira couldn't help but mark the same expression as she participated in the expectant gaze.

"Uhhh well, do you think they could be expecting us? What if they're just waiting for us to waltz in so they can strike?" He replied, fear coating his words like he were just told a very spooky campfire story.

"Tobi's right.. I fear this could be an ambush, Senpai." Akira admitted, eyes filled with concern.

The masked nin immediately let out a startled noise upon hearing her casual confession before slinging an arm around her shoulders protectively.

"But Akira-chan has nothing to worry about if I'm here to protect her!" He reassured, tightening his grip on her to the point of practically smothering her.  
Hearing him go on with worrying about surprise attacks to childishly wanting to play her hero annoyed her, along with his dismissive attitude towards giving her any personal space. It honestly felt like him and her had been glued to the hip since their encounter, but luckily she just so happened to be a patient woman. So she stifled a noise of complaint and reluctantly let him pull her into his chest as though to back up his point of shielding her from harms way.

"Because the bad guys don't stand a chance against me!" He explained, enjoying probably the only moment he'd get to willingly squish her in some sort of hug.

"Well, he's partly right. If we encounter any problems from the Konoha shinobi then we won't have much to worry about. We're more than capable of holding our own, besides I can't sense anyone inside the place, so although the chances are low, we're more likely to experience an ambush leaving than heading in." Zetsu commented, ignoring Tobi's displays of affection for his partner and silently motioning for the two to follow him.

Managing to push herself out of Tobi's embrace, Akira followed after the bicolored male and happily glued herself to his shadow, more than content with having him close to her once again. He seemed to notice this, guessing she was relieved to escape the other Akatsuki's playful grasp as he attempted to hide his amused smirk and continued his trot.

 

 

▁ ▂ ▃◤☽◢ ◉ ◣☾◥▃ ▂ ▁ ★~(◠﹏◕✿) ▁ ▂ ▃◤☽◢ ◉ ◣☾◥▃ ▂ ▁

 

 

 

_*Clack! A-Clack!*_

"I can't find it!" Tobi shouted over to the others, kicking over the sandstone colored rocks in an attempt to pinpoint the precious Akatsuki memrobilia inside the huge enclosed cave grounds.

The kunoichi only gave a pointless glance in his direction before scanning the rest of the area for the corpse of their fallen comrade.  
Some how she was doing a efficient job of forcing her mind to stay preoccupied on the mission, believing it was the only thing keeping her mental clarity right now and surprisingly it actually worked.

"I really thought a body would be easier to find with the smell and what not." Akira mentioned, trailing behind her partner and pulling off her kasa now that the rain was no longer a burden for them.

"Fortunately we won't have to deal with the problem of odor." Zetsu stated coming up to a enormous pile of rocks that wildly gathered around the center of the structure.

"Oh? Why's that?" Akira questioned, assuming the deceased had probably only met his fate not too long ago.

"Sasori of the Red Sand practiced immortality, **similar to the zombie pair you have met already."**

Apparently the nickname for the duo is quite a catch among the group. She was surprised to hear him refer to them as such but it really sounded like Zetsu disliked them. For whatever reason, she could see it being totally justified, she herself wasn't too fond of them, especially Hidan, but at least Kakuzu was there to help her out of a jam.  
Even if the stitched man liked it or not, she could appreciate the little things he had done for her, and a small part of her believed there was a lot to him than what meets the eye.

So she was curious as to why Zetsu sounded like he held some disdain for them but she really didn't get up the nerve to ask, or at least she decided to just ask later when they had some time alone. She was hoping that'd be soon too.  
She really felt the need to talk to him lately and ever since she had been amorous with the unusual looking man, she had been craving for more.  
The kunoichi could say that he has been treating her slightly different ever since she kissed him, that was to be expected of course but, she really wanted to know how he felt about her advances. Was it wrong for her to enjoy his company? Not that she really cared about what other people thought, more so she cared about what _he_ thought.  
Suppose no matter how important she deemed it to be, she saw it as something she found necessary to ask him in a more private function.

"Are you telling me immortals _can_ die? I guess you can never be too safe, eh?" Akira said, eyes planted on his back as he finally stopped in front of the large indention of shattered bits of earth.

"Most things require maintenance, including immortality." He started, leisurely kicking over a crumbled rock before revealing a battered body from underneath it, but it wasn't just like any corpse. Usually when showing signs of physical assault, a body becomes bruised and bloody, but the condition it was in was almost pristine except for the scuffs and chips like it was some kind of puppet. Then again now that she really looked at it, it really did look like "..A puppet?"

Not taking her eyes off the anomaly, her words echoed off the cave walls as she continued to ogle the body's ligaments that connected to the joints just like a dolls.

 **"That's correct."** The other entity confirmed, turning his head slightly to curiously study her surprised expression. "Kinda freakish, but at least he was tolerable. A shame we can't get rid of his body how we traditionally do it though.." Zetsu mused.

"What do you mean? How do you usually dispose of it?" The befuddled Senju asked, meeting his gaze to quirk a brow at him curiously.

He smirked mischievously and replied with a amused glint in his coppery eyes.

"We consume him."

Immediately her expression dropped and her face drained of any color, completely shocked by his answer.

 _'Is he serious?'_ Damn, she couldn't tell.. but it frightened her to believe that this man really.. _ate_ people.. Her mouth dried up like the Sahara desert just by the thought of it, so she swallowed thickly before responding with the only thing she could think of at the moment.

"W-Why would you do something like that..?"

 

Finding her expression priceless, he took a moment to soak it in. Something he was use to seeing with his victims, but not on someone he expected to live.  
Suppose it was just his curious and nosy nature that made him eager to know what she was thinking right now, but strangely he was beginning to feel a tad self conscious under her incriminating gaze.

"Its one of the most promising ways to discard of its secrets. You would be surprised how many village officials would be more than happy to get their hands on precious Akatsuki information.." He explained before squatting down to pull out a lavender colored cylinder out from the deceased's chest. Probably used as a substitute heart or core.

"Though it looks like this time we'll need to use a seal instead to make sure that doesn't happen." He sighed and whipped out a small rolled up scroll then quickly opened it and laid it gently on the ground in front of him.

Although his explanation seemed a bit reasonable, she still couldn't wrap her head around him having cannibalistic tendencies, even if he was issued that type of order or not. It was just bizarre.. and morally questionable, so she couldn't help but wonder what his stance on it was.

"..Why would Pein-sama issue something so morbid? He can't possibly believe you enjoy doing that." The disturbed shinobi commented, watching her partner perform the necessary seals to tidy away their comrades corpse.

"Not enjoy it? **I love it..** " The cannibal trailed off, tone ominous and misleading.

 

_*Poof!*_

 

The redheads lifeless body disappeared from sight, along with the cylinder holding his secrets and mechanics.

"What? Y-you can't really tell me you take pleasure in devouring.. _people_.." Akira feared for his answer, unsure if he was right in the head or not.

"I don't believe you could understand. **The dormant chakra residing in the flesh is beyond fulfilling.**  It wouldn't be something you would be able to imagine, nor do I expect you to." He stated, standing back up to his towering height and shuffling the rolled parchment back into his cloak.

Truthfully, he would of just left the topic at that. Content with his own explanation and uncaring about her judgment, but catching the unreadable expression on her face when he turned to face her really interested him.  
It wasn't necessarily the expected creeped out look he anticipated, it was a range of mixed emotions that seemed to derive from some kind of internal conflict.

 **"Are you frightened?"** Black Zetsu asked, sounding a bit smug and pleased with affecting her so.

"No.. It's just.." Her eyes flickered down to her feet in uncertainty, before she worked up the nerve to question him once again. "..Would you enjoy disposing of _me_  like that?"

Ah, so that's where she was getting at. It now made sense as to why she sounded so uneasy and upset, but did she expect him to treat her any differently?  
Well, there wasn't really much he could do about that sort of thing anyway.  
Suppose she would just have to accept that fact, because he was expected to come to grips with it as soon as a new member is let into the organization.  
Professionalism was of value and he was the type of man to keep up those appearances, but he couldn't help but ask himself if he would actually be okay with doing something so shady and gruesome to his partner if she had died.

Even if he tried he couldn't make himself forget the way the woman in front of him looked at him like he was her only ally, or how she felt the need to confide and trust in him rather than any other member she had come across.  
He knew she found comfort and strangely support from him, but not only that the highly emotional Senju prodigy had somewhat forcibly developed an intimate relationship with him, for lack of a better word..  
As much as he wanted to, he couldn't just ignore this information or the unfamiliar feelings he had slowly accumulated for her.

So if he planned on being entirely honest about his answer, then he wouldn't be happy about doing that to her at all. It would possibly mortify him to a certain degree actually.

Akira couldn't help but feel compelled to feel a bit relieved to see him actually thinking over his answer before replying. She really didn't want to hear him just bluntly reply with a yes or something. That would be total ego death for her.. or at the least make her uncomfortable.

 **"Since this is hypothetical..** knowing one of the reasons you've been recruited into the Akatsuki for your enormous supply of chakra reserves lets me know we'd be in for a real treat.." He finally responded and turned his back to her before he could catch the sudden frown deepening on her hurt features.

"..But if it puts your mind at ease, I don't think it would be any satisfying knowing it was you.. let alone your death would be rather unfortunate for me." He hesitantly admitted.

Instantly a small inaudible sigh of relief escaped her lips, and she could finally let a little bit of a giddiness numb her senses, because in her mind (no matter how disturbing the topic of choice was..) he had basically admitted to having some sort of feelings for her.

"Hmph, how sweet.." She joked, a silly little smirk playing on her lips as she folded her hands onto her chest right where her heart would be to feign a swooned disposition.

 **"Don't flatter yourself. The only reason that's so is because you're our partner, and plenty more can be recruited to take your place."**  The other half spat defensively, unwilling to confess to the truth.

 

"Uh-huh.. Right.." Was her only reply, completely unconvinced with his retort. 

 

_*Clack!*_

 

"Found it!" Sang a triumphant Tobi from a far ways across the cavern, all the while holding up the ring he had tediously searched for.

Finally they could get out of there and head back into the pouring rain towards base, but not even a little rain fall could dampen Akira's now sunny attitude..


	17. Rainy Day Devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after a short time skip after the previous chapter
> 
> Sorry for any typos or anything in this chapt, really tired right now and will check for them later thanks

_*Shrap! POP!*_  

A firework rocketed through the crowded streets and unsuspecting bystanders before harmlessly bursting into fiery shrapnel with the children holding the papery carton watched gleefully and giggle in amusement.

The unusually clear night sky above shone with a bright full moon, it's rays illuminating the enraptured civilians that were indulging its rarely seen glow.

Akira was in marvel in its beauty too, watching the bursts of fireworks erupt into the starry abyss with an entertained expression.

She was a little hesitant to admit that she expected to spend the holiday alone, it was usually something of custom.

Completing her mission without a hitch, and coming back to the solitary confines of her room was comforting, and she hadn't given her mundane plans much thought, until a certain missing nin came knocking at her door demanding she make an appearance at the festival like some of the other Akatsuki were.  
Dropping the signatures cloaks to go incognito was ingenious, and she was surprised to find herself having somewhat of a good time so far.

"Akira-chan! Look!" Tobi shouted in excitement, pointing towards a small group of people handing over pieces of candy to anybody they skipped by.  
The Senju woman only smirked, watching the overly excited male immediately rush over to one of them and being granted with a small sugary treat without hardly any begging.

"Satisfied now?" Akira giggled, slowly making her way through the overexcited pedestrians littering the concrete streets.

She couldn't deny the fact that she was at least a little curious as to what was under that original bright orange mask of his. Just to be able to get a tiny peek of his face was somewhat exciting for her.  
Even a hint of his features would be enough to give her an idea of what the rest of his face looked like, so she stood there eyeing him curiously with expectation gleaming in her wide eyes.

"Not yet.." Tobi muttered, about to lift his mask a tad to pop the piece of saccharine candy into his mouth.

"Konbanwa~!" A young woman greeted, cheeks painted with little orange jack-o-lanterns. Akira's eyes immediately flickered to the festival goer, briefly losing focus.

"Care for a piece of candy?" She chirped, shoving a small sweet into her hand from her little plastic bucket without a reply, before moving onto the next bystander.

"Now I am!" The masked nin announced happily, already having slipped the tiny treat into his mouth with the small plastic wrapper clutched in his hand. Ultimately bringing Akira's hopes of a glimpse to a dramatic crash and burn.

"Eh? What's wrong?" He questioned, picking up on the glum look on her face.

"Oh..! Uh, nothing.. It's just.." She thought for a moment then peered down at the confectionary. "I don't really have a sweet tooth is all.." She lied.

"Eh? That's too bad. I know what'll make you happy then!" Tobi happily said, hoping to cheer her up.

"And what's that?" Akira asked.

"The Eisa Parade!"

 

▁ ▂ ▃◤☽◢ ◉ ◣☾◥▃ ▂ ▁ ★~(◠﹏◕✿) ▁ ▂ ▃◤☽◢ ◉ ◣☾◥▃ ▂ ▁

 

The Eisa Parade.

A rhythmic march that heightened the already electrified atmosphere among the viewers with each choreographed stomp they made onto the cold concrete street.

The traditional drums hung around the male dancers necks were thrumming at a fast tempo, and was with no doubt gracing the enamored onlookers with a sense of excitement.

Akira could tell just by the way most of the locals were bubbling with energy, that the entire street exuded an aura of anticipation and elation, like a champagne cork ready to burst from its bottle.

 

From short relentless hops and mindlessly fidgeting, to casually clapping on beat with the fast pounding of the drums, the crowds parted in the heavily decorated streets celebrated like no other.  
It was obvious, and completely contagious, making it rather difficult for Akira stopping herself from mimicking their hyper active movements.  
The slight tapping of her foot was enough to keep the urge at bay, but for her chipper escort, restraint didn't come so easily, for he let a drawn out gasp of enthusiasm escape from under his annoyingly vibrant mask, and awed like he were a kid unwrapping an expensive present on Christmas morning.

"How beautiful.." The Senju woman quietly mused, eyes fixated on the female dancers extravagantly dressed in traditional garb, as they continued on with their synchronized caper seemingly with hardly any effort.

Not expecting a response to her words that were probably barely above a whisper, she was surprised to hear something of a small hum resounding in agreement near her.

"..Itachi-san? Is that you?" She questioned after glancing to her left and seeing the tall silhouette of the mysterious Uchiha wearing a thin thatch Kasa to shield his pale face from any prying eyes.

Though the slight distortion was effective, she could still tell it was him because presence was one hell of a thing.

It felt as though his aura could fluctuate like the temperature of a humid summer afternoon quickly coming to a well deserved cool down once the first scatters of cold rain hit. Perhaps it was just all in her mind, but titling her head a bit to catch his unwavering eyes glued onto the spectacle before them, she noticed his soft expression. Almost like he were reminiscing.

"It _is_ you.. Hmph, are you enjoying the parade too, Itachi-san?" Akira inquired sweetly, giving him a small smile once his eyes flickered to hers.

It felt strange for him to silently admit to the mild mannered kunoichi that the captivating exhibit before him was granting him a feeling of nostalgia, but perhaps a simple nod wasn't going to damage his perfectly maintained cold and mysterious demeanor.

Though there it was again, that look.

The look that could fracture the cold shell holding his emotions if it weren't for his ability to hide them away so easily. If only his life hadn't played out like it has and left him to maintain a computer that wasn't too much like his past self.

_If only.._

The thought of a better ultimatum made him sick.  
The woman in front of him reminded him too much of a young and unadulterated version of his beloved little brother, and perhaps if he were a different person at a different time then he could've known her.  
This life is much too brutal and filled with heartbreak and hatred, but maybe one day they both could have some peace of mind, for he could sense the dark undertones that lay beneath her.

At Least this is what he said to convince himself for differentiating the rookie Akatsuki from his younger brother.

"..Is something wrong, Itachi-san?"

Immediately the Uchiha blinked away the glazed over look in his eyes and realized he had been scowling at the young woman for quite sometime.

He hadn't even realized it though. How unlike him..

All he did to cover up the long forgotten feeling of embarrassment daring to creep through was mutter a simple no and tear himself from the rowdy crowd, and silently saunter away without another word.

 

" 'Tachi-san..?" Confused by his absentminded stare down, she felt the urge to follow after him, but was suddenly conflicted when a clothed arm wrapped around shoulders and squished her to someone's side.

"Wait! You're gonna miss the best part!" Tobi objected, using a little bit more force than necessary to root her next to him so she could view the fireworks shooting off into the night sky.

_*Shrap! Boom!*_

The glittering colors rained down from the sky, mixing beautifully with the confetti fluttering down and all around them.

"Fireworks! We got fireworks here!" A voice could be heard shouting a few streets away, which almost immediately caught her company's attention.

"Oh! Tobi wants some! Let's go!" He shrieked, bouncing with excitement before dropping his hold and skipping off into a direction of the announcement.

Wait a second, there was no way in hell she wanted to be alone right now!  
That little pest was probably one of the only reasons why she came in the first place.  
If it wasn't for his pitiful excuse of "being the only one who won't have someone to go with", then she probably would of declined and remained in bed.  
So how the hell was he just going to zip away and expect her on his heels within seconds? She just didn't have an attention span like that!

"T-.. Tobi!" She shouted, hoping to flag down and stop the energetic Akatsuki before he could stray too far, but unfortunately luck wasn't on her side, for when she turned a corner he was lost amongst the wading crowds of civilians.

"Damnit!" The beyond frustrated female huffed all the while scanning the city streets and her feet taking her to almost aimless locations in hopes to find the masked nin before it was too late.

"Heh, you get lost in heaven?" A deep and unfamiliar voice lulled from next to her.

Confused, Akira snapped her head in the direction of the said voice so fast it was about enough to get whiplash.

"Huh..?" A noise of confusion escaped her lips as soon as her bewildered eyes met murky grey ones. A man presumably not much older than herself, sat rather leisurely on a high stack of weathered old newspapers near the mouth of a small closed off alleyway.

"No.. no.. That's not it.. You're lookin' for someone, aren't ya?" The mysterious male guessed, striking a match on the brick wall he lazily rested his back on, and finally brought the flame up to the thin wooden pipe to set its unknown contents ablaze.

"That's right..! She's lookin' for someone.." A young woman laying flat on her back on top of a wooden crate drawled near him.

It was quite a setup they had, she had to admit. The narrow and lonely corridor was faintly lit up by the few hanging orange and red paper lanterns hanging above them, casting deep and vibrant colors that created a shady and devious atmosphere within the solitary indent.  
The kunoichi's eyes flickered to the two men hunkered low behind the man and woman, noticing the individuals were shaking some dice in a game of craps, and way too focused on the gamble to notice her presence.

Overall, the layout was laid back and impressive but way too conspicuous for her liking, so she only ogled it for a second before turning to step away from the smoking man before she could give it too much thought.

"Woah, hold on second! I think I can help you with what your searching for, sister." The man announced before she could even get a second step in.

His words hung in he air and her desperation was one of the reasons she decided to turn back towards him and listen, figuring he possibly might know which direction the blasted missing nin had ran off to.

He smirked, content with gaining her full attention once again, no matter how hard her glare was or how impatiently she tapped her foot.

"I've been here all day. So I've seen the streets, I've seen the people walkin' em." He chuckled a bit before taking another drag from the pipe. "Hell, I've seen God, but that's not who you're looking for, now is it?" His tone questionable and his words running in circles, obviously taking too much of her time.

"I'm looking for a man wearing a swirly orange mask.. Maybe you've seen him running through here?" She asked, hoping he'd get straight to the point already.

"Sure, I've seen someone like that, but yet I've seen _a lot_ who come through my street wearing masks. It _is_ Halloween night after all.." He replied with a mischievous glint in his murky eyes.

"Listen, are you gonna tell me where he is or not?" Akira questioned, her patience running thin as she brought a hand up to rest on her hip.

"Well," The man clicked his tongue momentarily before emptying the ash from his expensive looking smoking pipe. "That really depends on how you wanna do this."

She quirked a brow in response, giving him a look of disbelief.

"What are you getting at?" She asked incredulously.

"Oh come on, I'm not looking for any trouble, sister. All I want is a little bit of your time." He explained, loading up the pipe with a some sort of chalky black powder.

"And now that I clearly got your interest, have a seat.." He casually ordered, flicking his wrist in the direction of a concrete stoop facing parallel to him inside the alley way.

Did she really wanna take him up on his offer? Well she didn't have much to lose honestly, and his promise of finding the long lost ninja was somewhat intriguing, so she shrugged her shoulders and silently heeded his order to sit down on the cold concrete step with an expectant look cast his way.

"The only night of the year where the people of this rainy city are encouraged to show their true colors.." He spoke, lighting yet another match he fished out from under his heavy grey Amegakure cloak.

"Uh-huh.." Was Akira's only response, wondering when he'd have enough of her and send her on her way. Though unfazed by her behavior he continued.

"..but tonight isn't pressuring _you_ into nothin'. Yeah, I can see it, you're a natural born killer. There's no hiding that.." He commented, filling the cold air with smoke.

"An animal..!" The dazed and sedated woman still lounging near them agreed, obviously out of her mind, but still coherent enough to keep track of the conversation.

"Eh? What makes you say that?" Akira questioned, dumbfounded by their self assured comments.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast, killer. First I want you to take a long toke of this before I let you know anything." He stated, holding the small wooden paraphernalia out in front of him.

"W-what? No, thanks.. I'm much too busy to mess around with something like that.." She politely turned down, a little put off by his offer.

"Don't worry. There's nothing a little bit of the caterpillar can't fix, Akira-san." He cooed, eyes hazy and as dark as the thick bellows of smoke pouring out from the thin crevices of his cheshire cat-like grin.  
The mention of her name set a sense of panic within her with her confusion at an all time high.

"Now, now.. Like I said there's nothing else I want from ya. Only a little bit of your time, so go on." He shook the object a little, making her eyes flicker back down to it with a thoughtful expression.

He really didn't sound like he had any quarrels with her, or like he wanted any trouble. Actually he acted as though she were an old friend of his just trying to reminisce about good times, but still.. could she trust him?

Risking whatever low chance of some kind of misfortune happening to her, she hesitantly took it within her hand and reluctantly wrapped her cherry lips around the end of it.

A small hum of satisfaction rumbled up from his chest and simmered quietly inside his cotton mouth at just the display of her taking a long and thoughtful puff from the pipe.

The warm comfortable heat slipping into her lungs instantly granted her a pleasurable feeling in her chest, as a light pressure could be felt pushing somewhere behind her eyelids.

Taking nothing more than just a hit, she curtly handed the instrument of euphoria back to him in hopes he was satisfied with her slight debauchery.

"Happy?" Her face showing no signs of the giddiness she felt tickling her lungs.

The opium smoking fiend only smiled from under his matching grey bucket hat, looking as harmless as ever. "Hmph, much happier than you, but I'm still pretty satisfied.." He replied before giving a drawn out sigh and crossing his legs.

"..You know you've grown. Your face has really filled out so nicely that I hardly even recognized you, but you still carry that same restless expression." He chuckled halfheartedly once getting a glance at her wide and bemused eyes.

"Am I suppose to know who you are?" She asked still a bit suspicious of him, but otherwise relaxed from the moderate body high that blissfully hummed through her and somewhat lazily grounded her to the stoop.  
If it wasn't for that though, she probably would of been more apprehensive and little less casual, possibly one of the reasons why he wanted to sedate her..

"S'pose not, but I sure know you. The lone vigilante driven by hate to murder Hanzō the Salamander's right hand men in cold blood! It's a story this city could never forget." He said, her eyes following the hand that reached down to give the stacked newspapers he sat on a little tap with his middle finger.

"..and yet most did, but I sure didn't."

"I don't think I have to explain myself to you, if that's what you're getting at." She deadpanned, managing to give him a glare before crossing her arms in an aloof fashion.

"Heheh, fortunately that's not the case. Actually I was one of the few who knew other than to believe such propaganda.." Clarifying, he moved the sleek flap of his cloak away momentarily to reveal a rather worn Hidden Rain hitai-ate hanging loosely around the collar of his neck.

"You're a shinobi..?" The look in her eyes glimmering wildly with curiosity.

He shook his head solemnly, "Not anymore.. After Hanzō was killed I was put out of duty permanently, but don't worry, I'm not bitter about it." He mused, eyes cast downwards in deep thought as he took another long drag.

She couldn't really decipher the look on his face, but she could see a hint of longing in his eyes that she was familiar with, and a part of her recognizing this persuaded her to feel a bit sympathetic towards him.

"I'm sorry to hear th--"

"You filthy fucking **CHEAT!** " Akira was quickly interrupted by one of the men playing craps earlier, who was now angrily shouting at the other.

"Rigged dice?! I'll burn you alive like the last bitch who crossed me, you cu--!" The enraged stranger scampering to wrap his fingers around the others throat was quickly halted in his actions, by the immediate interjection of the mysterious opium smoker.

"Oi! Settle down now, brother. Can't ya see I'm trynna talk to my lady-friend here?" He drawled, stopping the bickerers momentarily for them to simmer down a bit. The infuriated gambler obviously sober enough to stop himself from killing the fraud like a stray dog in the street, instead opted for murmuring obscenities to him as though it were a frequent occurrence.

"Sorry about that.." The early retired shinobi flashed a sheepish smile. "Those idiots just don't know how to act around company." He explained apologetically.

With her mind transported into a light euphoric high, she was able to suppress a complaint and reply without missing a beat.

"That's nothing compared to the people I've been dealing with lately."

"Oh, you're rollin' with a new outfit now? Heh, that makes sense as to why your bounty's been lifted."

 _'So Pein really has kept his word..'_ Akira thought, feeling happy about not being a wanted criminal in the city she had adored so much.

"I read your file though.. Seems as though Hanzō's men really worked hard on gathering whatever information they could on you for something that seems so far fetched.."

"Far fetched?" She inquire, cocking her head a bit.

"Yeah, it was like they believed they could make you into some sort of super hero.. Or more so a villain knowing them. Either way it was pretty bizarre.. I mean the Rinnegan isn't even real. Just some sort of made up tall tale to scare people into line. Sounds like they were chasing shadows, if you were to ask me."

Akira wasn't even sure how Pein acquired the Rinnegan, but she now knew it wasn't just some kind of folklore. Could have it of been he was born with it, or maybe it was a gift from the Rikudō Sennin himself? She wasn't sure, but hearing about how she was acknowledged for obtaining this kind of power was astounding, so she prodded for more.

"Can you remember exactly what it said?" She paused for a moment, feeling a bit naive before speaking up once more. "Wait, why do you care about telling me something such as this?"

"You may not realize this but you and I have experienced the same hardships of Ame's civil war, but being orpahned by it is something I will never forget, though it doesn't mean I can't bitch about it." He solemnly explained, eyes completely earnest.

Akira scoffed, "I don't know about you but I live the life I deserve."

"That may be true but nobody deserves to be a dictators puppet, or some mindless vessel. Listen don't take it from me. You can find the file yourself because it still exists." He stated, amused by her surprised expression.

"It does?"

"Well, if it isn't already burnt to ash for confidential purposes, then yeah, it does. Though if you're really that interested then you should meet a friend of mine. She use to work with me on reconnaissance missions and public affairs, and she probably knows more than I do about Intel collected on the shinobi deployed during the previous wars. With some luck you might be able to get your hands on that file." He advised.

"Wait! What's her name? How can I find her?" For reasons unknown, Akira felt a sense of obligation in finding this Intel. He was practically baiting her to go on a search for answers, but perhaps that was all she needed. A feeling of closure..

The brunette smirked and tsked in a playful manner, "You're not looking for names. Just head south of the market district and you'll come across a little flower shop. That's where she'll be." He stood up from his stack of newspapers, hands in his pockets and pipe dangling from his lips.

"Now go on! Scram. I'll make sure to give her a heads up about expecting a visitor." He said with a little humor, leisurely kicking at her shoes just enough to almost scuff them.

"Don't get me wrong, you've helped me more than you know, but you still haven't told me where my friend ran off too!" Akira defended, hopping off the stoop as he kept given little juts with his foot to scamper her off and back into the entrance of the alleyway.

"Ohhh yeah.. I almost forgot about that." He paused his playful movements and brought a hand up to his chin in thought. "I think he went that way.. That's where the Letter Lighting will be anyways." He said.

"Nobody's gonna miss that show, so if you can't find him there, he's as good as gone! So scram!" He goofed resuming his motions to where she was forced to back away into the crowds and off into the direction he pointed towards.

She smiled gratuitously, "T-thank you!"

"Buh-bye, Alice~" The heavily drugged woman slurred, still laying on the random packages in the depths of the corridor. "Hope ya find that lil' white rabbit you've been lookin' for.." Was all the Senju heard before bidding a farewell and scurrying off.


	18. Never Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow I was gone for a while, but I've been working a lot so it's been interfering with my writing. Don't worry though I'm not ever abandoning this story until it's finished because my imagination is too wild for that. Anyway next chapt is gonna be GOOD.

 

To be able to participate in the Letter Lighting is quite easy. All you have to be able to do is write down a wish, put it in the colored paper lantern, and have it strung up. Easy.

It may have seemed simple, but the ceremony managed to attract a large amount of people hoping to be acknowledged by a greater power and finally have their little prayer come to life.  
People wish for something when they blow out their birthday candles, when they see a shooting star, and sometimes when the clock strikes 11:11, it was just a part of human nature.

So why was it so difficult for Akira to find something to wish for? Surely there were plenty of things..

With a piece of small parchment no bigger than the size of her hand, and an ink pen she was able to borrow, she absentmindedly tapped it against the paper in deep thought.

"Having trouble?" A curious voice rang from next to her, so close she could feel the hot breath ghosting over her neck, until she spun around on her wooden stool to catch a glimpse of none other than the dichromatic Akatsuki.

"Zetsu-kun.." Feeling hesitant to use such an endearing honorific, a small part of her mind urged her to vocally establish a relationship between the two no matter how  
small or petty the action was.

"I hardly even recognized you." She commented, striking eyes scanning over his thatch Kasa, hiding every bizarre feature to be seen. The green flytrap gone, and the only thing that could really be seen was his oddly colored black and white hands poking out from the black cuffs of his long sleeved shirt.

"Funny.." He disregarded, gaze still fixated on the small piece of paper. " You put 'please' as the first word.." Still not moving from his spot, his eyebrows drew together as though he were trying to figure out a sodoku puzzle.

"You sound so.. desperate.. Seems so unlike you." He mentioned, his face way too uncomfortably close to hers, but even by the proximity she still couldn't decipher his detailing features by the traditional hat.

"That's because..!" Feeling at a lost for words, she never had to explain her reasoning before. "..He.." She couldn't even say _his name_ aloud without feeling a tremble within her lower lip.

"Forget it.. What are you doing here anyways?" She unexpectedly glared at him from her seat at the kiosk, and crumpled up the paper like it was a piece of trash.  
  
A look of suspicion was cast her way. For some strange reason he felt annoyed.  
She obviously was keeping something secret from him, and his primal instincts were calling to him from a dark corner of his mind to dig deeper, but yet with great reluctance he was able to hold his tongue.

"You don't sound very happy to see me." He said with a bit of an agitated tone and putting a stop to his hovering.

Why did he care? He didn't really know, but noticing how closed off she seemed and not knowing why really irked him.

"S-Sorry.. This festival's just getting kind of tiring, and Tobi won't let me leave until I write something down for this silly Letter Lighting." The irritated female admitted, glancing at the recently found Akatsuki sticking his wish inside a lantern before handing it back to the festival worker to have it strung up.

"Hmm.. That doesn't sound too difficult. **Just write down anything..**  Like a new hat! Women enjoy receiving clothing, correct? So I don't particularly see why you're having such a hard time." The non human responded, sounding as innocently cliche as ever.

"But this ceremony only happens once a year. I feel like I'd be wasting an opportunity if I were to write down something so insignificant.." She sighed, ignoring his harmless stereotypes and smoothing out the wrinkles of the previously crushed paper.

  
He chuckled lightly, something she loved hearing. It was so odd sounding, like an aimless melody.. but he was laughing at _her._

"I don't understand why you're doing this in the first place really.. If you want a new hat or something, I'll buy it for you. There's no need to waste your time with _wishing_ when you can just go out and get it."

"What? You.. you'd buy me a ha-? N-Nevermind. I don't think you're understanding what I'm saying.." Dismissing him into silence, she felt so flustered she had to avert her eyes from his just by the surprising statement that he'd actually get her a gift if she wished for it.

'Does he actually care enough for me to do something like that..?' She thought completely bewildered by his new behavior.

True, their relationship had blossomed into something confusing and at times misleading, but she has never experienced the feelings she has towards him before.  
It was like she's been sinking further and further into warm waters of affection each time his enamoring eyes met hers.

And then there was the _kiss_.. 

When she unwillingly took a hit a of that black and charred substance the strange man from the alley way offered her, in exchange for some crucial information of course, she began to feel a warm heat somewhere low in her tummy.  
The strange thing was, it only happened when she caught eyes with _him_. 

The dangerous and bloodless man with an insatiable appetite for power lurking under the confines of flesh.

Sounds like a monster, and just by that description Akira would of probably believed that he was, but things were different now. She acknowledge his flaws and saw past them, because you cannot see how beautiful a beach is just by a handful of sand.

Though she didn't know everything about him, learning his strange mannerisms, quirks and oddities (no matter how unsightly they may be) granted her a sense of intrigue.

With a small sigh expressing her feeling of becoming burnt out on finding something to write, she stood from her seat, still not daring to look at the man next to her, in fear he would guess what she had just been thinking.  
Unfortunately, he happened to be good at that kinda thing.

"I'm getting tired.. 'Suppose I'll be heading back now." She lied while passing by him.

In truth she only wanted to get away from him, not because she was upset with him, but because she was being reminded of her infatuation for him.  
That wasn't all though.. Something felt wrong. Her stomach flipped when she heard him reply with the words, "Good. I was about to do the same." and her mind ran murky with thoughts she imagined a teenage girl would thinking about her crush.

It was embarrassing! She was a woman, damnit. So why was she finding it so hard to stay calm?

 **"We have a mission soon anyway..** You'll probably find this one pretty interesting." Another reason for her state of nervousness mentioned, cooly sauntering next to her.

"What will it be?"

"It's probably not best to go into much detail here." Zetsu mentioned eyeing his surroundings. The open spaced corridor they walked down was filled with strangers littering the sidewalks. Anonymous people they would never know, no one they would give a second chance to hear their story at least.. and that was fine.. because she had him for the time being.

"Of course.." She timidly replied.

"Hmm? What's wrong..?" Noticing the glum look on her face, his curiosity once again got the best of him.

"Like I said, it's nothing."

" **Don't lie to me.** You're worried about something. It's written all over your face."

What was she worried about? Handling herself in combat? Being able to carry out the task effectively? The situation going awry?  
Partly. Something going terribly wrong is always a factor to becoming a shinobi, but what really made her worry was the fact that she could lose her partner at any moment.  
It chilled her to the bone. Someone she had consciously made an effort to understand, and spent plentiful moments with to pass the time. To lose someone like that _again_ terrified her and made her regret catching any type of feelings in the first place.

"I just hope it won't be too much. With my luck, I fear something bad is bound to happen sooner or later." She admitted.

"Stop being so pessimistic. If you keep anticipating something then it'll probably happen, but If you prepare yourself for the unexpected then you'll be able to face whatever problem comes your way." Both sides of him could agree on that whole heartedly.  
Mentally preparing yourself for the worst could be seen as an effective tactic.  
An important aspect of being a dangerous criminal is anticipating disaster and being a able to accept it, because most ninja were dealt cards of misfortune and had experienced turmoil in their life. It was just another way of living and it was not uncommon. So why was she second guessing herself now?  
He couldn't figure it out. Or he just didn't want to realize that she didn't only fear for her own well being, but for his too.

"I know you're right, but what's stopping the world from throwing me another curve ball? I just don't think I'd be able to handle it." She admitted, grimacing at the thought of helplessness.

" **You have not exceeded our expectations as a shinobi..** But you've adapted quickly to this lifestyle and been able to try to hone your abilities. So that's some growth, but I can't promise you anything."

"Not even to make me feel better?" She asked.

"I don't understand. Why would me lying to you make you feel better? Is that what people are supposed to do?" Color split lips lifted into a distasteful scowl as he stopped in his tracks.

"That sounds pretty _weird_ , if ya ask me.." Says the _weirdest_ man in the world.

She would of rolled her eyes and snapped back with something witty if she wasn't feeling her senses slightly heightened by some form of anxiety still. The only thing she was able to pull off was a conflicted expression and a pair of hands wringing together in nervousness.

"Look.." He unsurely sighs out. "I'm not gonna do whatever your.. _custom_.. expects me to, but I will tell you this.. You can handle yourself, or at least _I_ think you can." He explained reluctantly spilling the confession and mentally preparing himself for the next one.

"..And I don't dislike you neither."

"His choice of words were guarded, no doubt about it, but they meant so much more to her, and she figured that was as close as to a love admittance she was ever gonna get from him. She never expected a happily ever after scenario with him anyway.  
All she wanted was his acceptance.

"If you really mean that, then thank you. I was afraid nobody would see me as their equal, or even useful. I'm just glad that it is _you_ who does." She smiled genuinely at him, affection clearly shimmering within the gleam of her eyes.

"If you didn't have any purpose to the organization then you wouldn't be here." He reassured, giving a very small smile in return, it's subtly earnest nature rare considering his trickster like tendencies.

Whatever little significance the hard working kunoichi got from his words gave her some confidence, with a bright idea to compliment her slightly fluffed ego.

"Well, I've been practicing, ya know! I knew nothing about medical jutsu until I joined up." She says with a wide smile. "Here let me show you!"

Reaching for his clothed forearm, she pushes up the dark sleeve to reveal stark white skin and focuses her chakra to her fingertips.  
Almost immediately a bright blue glow encompasses around his arm, a warmth spreading through his veins and sowing a feeling of empowerment into his muscles.

"Hm. Not bad." He comments, somewhat impressed yet more intrigued by her enthusiasm.

Losing her concentration, her senses overflow with unused chakra and immediate panic sets in, realizing she had just made a mistake.  
Fire ignites and replaces the calming blue glow around her fingers and begins to burn idly on his naked forearm.

"Oops!" She blurts out. Mind racing for a solution to the spontaneous combustion she caused. Her eyes searched for anything in reach to quickly put it out, and for once she was wishing it was raining like it did every day of the week.

"Ah.. Don't worry, it can't really harm me." He tried to calmly explain to the woman frantically searching for something to douse him with, and before he knew it..

_*Splash!*_

Suddenly soaked in freezing cold water, Zetsu looked up to find the culprit who had mercilessly drenched him.

"..S-sorry..!" Akira exclaimed, a small empty bucket in her hands and a sheepish look gracing her features.

Damn, what an idiot.


	19. Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Such an eventful night seems to simmer down, but emotions seem to run high between the two Akatuski partners..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I took forever to write this chapt, I had such a hard time writing it too omg anyway next chapt is now in the process
> 
> stong NSFW

"I've never seen things, I suppose I've only witnessed them. Comrade’s set on fire near the cool shores of Kirigakure. I watched the blood of my enemies stain my hands under the full moon, that had such as myself witnessed my unforgivable actions.  
With difficulty I will be able to forget these memories but.. yet I’m having such a hard time with this?” Akira’s remorse was consuming. How could she had done something so impulsive? So stupid?

The lingering embarrassment heated her cheeks and flooded her thoughts with rushed apologies. The poor flustered woman just couldn’t accept the fact that she had accidentally doused an unlucky Akatsuki in freezing cold water, and panicked when there apparently was no reason to.

To fix her mortified state, something would have to be very reasonably distinct to catch her attention, and silence the inner voice scolding the humiliated woman for her stupidity.

“I really didn’t expect you to be more upset about this than me.” Her soaked victim says, his short wet hair leaving little puddles on the clean wooden floors as he shut the door to his bedroom behind them.

 **“What did you expect from a such an insolent little girl?”** His other half butts in, completely peeved with her decision to start dabbing his moist cheek with a handkerchief.

Such an insistent woman she could be when given the chance to amend a witless mistake.  
No matter how many times he explained that the whole thing wasn’t much of a big deal (since his skin is mostly fire retardant to such a weak flame) she just wouldn’t let him brush it off so easily.

It wasn’t so bad though. At least he was comforted back into the privacy of his own room. Hopefully none of the other members saw him in such an abnormal state.  
If they witnessed the sulking kunoichi trailing behind him so closely like a sad little puppy, he knows they would probably have an amazing time poking fun at their bizzare relationship.

Unfortunately he began to realize that what they had established was becoming noticeably complicated, and God knows he didn’t want to make it anymore so than it already was.

“You think I wouldn't feel bad about throwing a bucket of water on you? I mean look at yourself! You’re completely drenched.” She reasoned, watching him sit down on the edge of his hardly even used bed and ruffle his hair to shake away any of the remaining moisture clinging to the moss green locks.

“Well, I can see it not being much of a confidence booster. And now that you mention it, ‘suppose these clothes aren’t helping neither.” Disinterested yellow eyes scanned the sopping wet shirt he wore, its long sleeves now lay more slack against his body and clinging to him like a second skin.

Becoming aware of the clothing’s bothersome properties, Zetsu swiftly hooks his fingers underneath the edges of it, and removes the shirt from himself without a second thought.  
Not thinking the sight would send Akira’s nerves into a frenzy, he uncaringly casts the article away to the floor with it leaving a wet smack on impact.

 

“Ah, I don’t know how you stand it.. That thing was really beginning to get on my nerves.“ He says, a slight shiver racking his spine once the cold air kissed his damp skin.

“A-A shirt..? Uhh.. I don’t think I have the luxury of being able to take mine off whenever I want.” She knew she was leering at him, and was aware of the blush burning her cheeks, but she just couldn’t tear her eyes away.

She never had this problem before..

When sparring with him she never found herself ogling him like some smitten little school girl. So why was she doing so now?  
Just at his side, smoothing away the droplets of water with a small cloth, and taking in the firm curves of his chest and hips with hungry eyes.

She didn’t know, but it was quelling the flares of lingering embarrassment with each thoughtful polish, and leaving a burning sensation deep down low in her tummy.  
It was almost a feeling of anticipation, but she didn’t exactly know what for.. until her gaze followed down towards the strong dip of his bi-colored hips.

 _‘Ugh, Kami! I’m such a creep! How could I even think about doing such a thing?’_ The bothered woman thought, shaming herself for wanting to see the rest of him.

“I never really thought about that being a problem for you before. Hm.” Zetsu mused, truthfully never giving the woman’s anatomy much thought.

 **“It's because you never notice the obvious difference between our abilities."** It was definitely an insult, but it vague enough for Akira to overlook it. Besides she had other things to worry about..

Continuing to exchange words with his bitter compeer, Zetsu's hot breath ghosted over the thin skin of her wrists when she wiped away the droplets of water on his cheek, making her stomach curl and twist with an unusual feeling of pleasure.

Damnit, he just had to make her feel like this right now, didn’t he!  
It frustrated her to believe he really _is_ clueless about this kind of thing.  
Hell, she’s sorta like that too, but he probably didn’t even notice how flushed her skin was when she meekly pressed herself more into his side, her clothed chest leaning against his toned bicep.

So what? Maybe she was acting like a little bit of a perv even when the other person wasn’t aware of it, but the slight dew nearly coating her underwear was giving her emotions away to eagerness and lust.

“Akira-san, you don’t look well. Are you..?”

Oh no. She could see it. The tip of his nose twitching, his gold eyes dilating once the sudden realization hit him.

“..You’re.. in heat..?” His astonished tone of voice just above a whisper as he finally looked at her to see a strange expression.

No matter how hard she tried to hide the symptoms of arousal, she couldn’t hide one thing. The fragrance.

His wording was similar to something animalistic.  
The expression ‘the smell of sex in the room’ was extremely literal for Zetsu.  
Sure, a room can have a scent of musk, once noticing people have became passionate in a bedroom for instance, but this was completely different.  
He had an extraordinary sense of smell, not like any other.  
He could still smell the metallic scent of blood when it was washed clean hours ago, or a strong noxious gas bomb of an enemy ninja setting the trap miles away.  
Though these pheromones releasing from her is unfamiliar to him. The aroma she emitted was natural and uninhibited, yet it is so distinctively feminine he can only narrow it down to something purely carnal. Such as arousal.

 

”..Zetsu-kun..“ She muttered, wanting to come up with a perfect excuse, but it was true and she couldn’t even think of a shitty cover up to hide the fact that she really was in such a peculiar state.

"Please..” She swallows thickly, her throat suddenly dry by the simmering anxiety bubbling underneath her skin. “..May I kiss you..?”

Her desperate behavior was cute and enamoring but it’s allure completely went over his head, for he was too stunned by the request to even bat a lash at her.  
No, he only stared wide eyed as she leaned in slightly and tenderly kissed the flushed skin of his white cheek.

It was completely electric, like a static charge rushing through his veins and clouding his thoughts with impulses he didn’t even know were real.

He clearly didn’t know how to react when she went in for another, but this time she closed her half lidded eyes and encompassed his soft lips with her own.  
Entirely sublime no matter how gentle it was, but he still is having an internal war, especially with his other half.  
It was a relentless mental bicker about whether he should allow her advances or not, but for one, he didn’t know jack shit about these kinds of things or the stigma attached to them. All he knew was the way it made him feel when she cocked her head a bit, deepening the kiss and sending him into his own personal heaven.

Instinctively, his previously slack lips molded with hers, like pursing into soft pillows and getting caught up with its gentle tango.  
It was just too late though. A sudden change of heart couldn’t tame the fire spreading throughout her nether regions, but it did make her pull back and absorb what she had just done.

"..That wasn’t right of me.” She muttered, still hovering over him but with enough comfortable distance between the two.

“What..?” He blurts out and finds his breath taken away by the sensual act prior.

 **“Is this your variation of a joke?”** The other half questioned in a low and incredulous tone. Both their expressions a melting pot of emotions, but unlike him the sensitive female began having difficulty maintaining eye contact.

 

“Huh? No! ..Of course not.. This is nothing like that.”

How could she word this properly? She just couldn’t do this without justifying her feelings for him, it seemed wrong. There was just something about hearing it aloud that would give her peace of mind.

“Then you’re actually wanting to.. ' _court_ ’ me..?” He sounded a bit apprehensive about the whole thing, but the little insecurity he was feeling had a good reason to be there.  
He never considered the fact that they could be a match, he didn’t even know how to determine something like that.  
So why was she choosing him of all people to do this with?  
Certainly she would have a better reason than he did.

“D-don’t say it like that..” She starts, not liking his suspicious tone. “You’ve been there for me and no matter how hard it is for me to say it.. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you."

Not only was Akira afraid of losing him, but the realization that she actually is afraid to lose him terrified her even more. She had already experienced the bitterness of death while she was still alive, and now she just had to learn to live with it. To change as quickly as her emotions did.

It wasn’t easy for her though. She walked a steady path until the one person in her life who she cared for the most left this life, but now she discovered someone that was slowly fulfilling her need for companionship. Someone who accepts her, has expectations for her and more importantly, believes in her.

To lose someone like that again without showing them how she truly feels would do her incomprehensible damage.

Suddenly, the overwhelmed man stood up, towering over Akira with an unreadable expression.

**“Afraid of losing us? Are you doubting our ability, kunoichi?”**

Zetsu was the opposite of dense, but when it came down to something like this, he just couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of someone worrying about him.  
No one really had before anyway, so this is completely new to him.

"No! That’s not it. Zetsu-kun..” She sighs heavily in attempt to calm her nerves.

"..I care for you.. Please, tell me my feelings aren’t in vain.. I don’t know if could han-”

Her words are abruptly cut off when he unexpectedly pulls her towards him, consoling her with his own interpretation of a hug. Which consisted of practically smooshing the side of her face into his bare chest and resting his two toned hands around her waist and head.

“Akira-san..” He hums above her. His tone soft and honest, but holding a hint of uncertainty.

“I know.. I’m not leaving you anytime soon.” The obviously cautious words set off warning bells somewhere deep inside her mind, but the need of his reassurance muffled them.  
With her heart inflated and her skin still longing for his touch, she finally got to relish in the feeling of the embrace.  
A small act of intimacy she hadn’t experienced before, at least not like this..

“I hope not.” She mumbles against his chest as his scent began filling her nostrils.  
She never wanted to imagine feeling such horrible pain ever again.  
Gingerly pressing her lips against the soft skin of his collar bone, she allowed her to forget any of the possible scenarios threatening to enter her mind.  
“Just stay with me.. at least for tonight..”

With her sultry tone making him more nervous by the second, he unwound his arms from around her to move away, but found himself trapped when she tenderly placed her open palms around both sides of his face, forcing him to look her in the eye.

For all he cared the dull white paint of his bedroom could of peeled right off the walls and he still wouldn’t be able to falter from her gaze.  
He had never seen her striking eyes darkened with desire before, but that wasn’t what surprised him so much. It was the adoration gleaming behind her half lidded irises instead.  
It frightened him to know that adoration was for him and to realize that he had no way of knowing how to respond to it, but before he could protest she was quick to speak up.

“You’ll do that for me, won’t you?”

He sensed the loaded question before she let it slip past her candy colored lips, yet he is still shocked just by what she was insinuating.

“I-I.. Yeah but..” Did she have any clue as to exactly who he is? He is a goddamned Akatsuki for Bijū’s sake! And not only that but the kind you don't cross paths with and live to tell about it. She could look a cannibalistic, and manipulative criminal in the eyes and blurt out an 'I want you’? Damn, maybe she really was just as fucked up as him, but it took guts to admit something like that, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to.

"..We’re not like you, ya know? Not human.. I don’t think it’s suppose to work like that.” He argued, hoping to convince her about the blatant abnormalities, but he could already tell she was set in her ways.

"That’s not what this is about.” Sounding a bit frustrated, her fingers carefully caressing his rosy cheek completely contradicted her evident irritation.

"It’s about how we feel about each other. Not how others do.” She explained, leaning forward enough to ghost her lips over his like the morning shore over sand.

“So stop overthinking it and.. show me..”

“Okay..” He finally breathed defeated. Her lips crashing down on him without any restraint, a pleased sigh escaping her as he hesitantly joined in with the sweet kiss.  
Her tongue darted out of her mouth to teasingly glide across his lower lip, forcing the knots in his stomach to tighten, and goosebumps to rise on his skin when she slipped the wet muscle through his slightly parted mouth to explore it like newfound territory.

Her passion is overwhelming him. He can only think to mimic her actions, and hope they’re as good as hers, but the muffled moan resounding from her throat reassured him that he is doing something right.  
As his hands subconsciously wrap around both her biceps to hold her in place, he allows himself to indulge in the taste of her. Entirely different than what he expected, but even better than what he could of imagined.

 ** _'I knew something like this would happen..’_** His other half seethed within the dark confines of his mind. Black Zetsu was unquestionably his source of doubt, but what he said next completely surprised him.

**_'You’re too weak. So this was to be expected, but if you actually plan on going through with this, then I might as well milk this for all it has.. ’_ **

His pitch black hand suddenly let go of her arm and slid down to her chest to roughly grip her left breast with so much force she pulls back from the kiss and pathetically whimpers.  
The dark fingers abusing her bosom reconciled with a massage, moving the clothed skin like jelly and bringing her to an unfamiliar ecstasy.

Zetsu’s pulse quickened as she responded with another kiss, but this time it was placed on the sensitive skin of his neck. Her lips enclosed around his color split skin with suction as her tongue rubbed against the flesh in worship. His actions had sent her into a mania, almost instantly bruising his stark white neck with a sinister hickey.  
The enticing fragrance of her womanhood only grew stronger along with the anticipation, and his hesitation slowly burned up like a comet drifting into earths atmosphere. Zetsu knew he had already made his choice - to soothe the now growing ache in his pants and resist questioning his own motives.  
He could now happily succumb to the his demons lust and curiosity, and love every second of it.

 

Akira is unexpectedly stunned when the rough hand massaging her breast quickly pulls her shirt over her without a warning, and as she feared she instantly felt the creeping sensation of vulnerability upon noticing Zetsu’s analytical stare.  
With his lips parted in awe and his eyes filled with intrigue, he ogled her half naked form and soaked in every smooth curve of her feminine features like he was reading an interesting book.

"So many scars..” He muses as though he were making a mental note of it, all the while the pads of his ivory fingers trace the thin skin of a cicatrix right below her prominent collar bone.

"Your skin's seen a lot of ware, yet it still somehow retains the softness of a child’s..”

Akira could feel the white hand grasping her bicep tighten more than what she deemed to be necessary, as she soon became aware of the foreign black fingers sliding up her toned stomach to once again fondle her bare breast like playdough.

Her breath hitches like a newborn taking its first gasps of air. Her smoldering desire for him allowing her to forget her bashfulness momentarily, and let herself gingerly press an open palm to his lower stomach.  
Zetsu knew what this primal energy ferociously stirring within him wanted. It was obvious, but he soon began to believe he was in above his head when the hand already pressed against him forcefully pushes him onto the bed, almost as though he weighed nothing.  
He had almost forgotten this wanton charged minx, sizing him up like he was about to be her dinner, was actually a dangerous criminal. It was completely unexpected behavior for this serious minded female. To watch her sink to her knees like a predator ready to pounce, and find her place between his legs that dangled off the end of the bed. It really left him speechless.  
A wet kiss placed right above the low hem of his pants forced him to jerk his hips in surprise. His muscles felt more tight, and an unbearable tension throbbed below the space she is ever so tenderly caressing.

"I knew you liked me.” Akira whispered. A slender finger gliding over the bulge hiding beneath his tapered shinobi pants.

“I-I..” His voice shook when he decided to protest. His thoughts so disrupted and his senses so heightened he couldn’t even come up with a stubborn retort.  
Her single finger teasing him is suddenly replaced with a steady palm, rubbing the covered irritation thoroughly. His stomach turns violently enough to tear through the rippling tides of a ferocious ocean storm.  
His heart began racing as he watched her slowly remove his pants to reveal his thick reddened girth, twitching with eagerness and illuminated from the full moons rays beaming through the small window.  
Noticing the continuous color split of black and white, Akira grasps his rigid length gently with a single hand, and curiously sizes up him up with her smooth fingers.

"Zuzu-kun~ ♡” She mewls an endearing little nickname for him, with just the sight of the rosy tip making her core tremble and a new libidinous persona emerge.

Intimidating, innocent, aloof. These emotions he’d seen within her captivating eyes never surprised Zetsu, but the dark, milky stare glazing her hazy irises unsettled him.  
It was primal and lascivious, causing him to choke on his words, especially when she stuck out her tantalizing, pink tongue to give a drawn out lick on the glossy head of his two-toned cock.

“What a-are.. hahhn.. y-you doing..?” Zetsu practically whines from the lengthy laps she pleasures him with. The near crippling desire within him makes him fear the unnatural sensations he is suddenly feeling. And then soon his stomach lurches when her hot wet mouth covers the head with suction, making him unwillingly buck his hips upwards and force most of his length into her throat.  
Immediately reacting to the abrupt assault, the gasping female pulls back from his lap, settling back on her haunches to gape at his equally shocked and flustered expression.

“S-Sorry!” He blurts out. “I-I didn’t think you would do that.” His face red from embarrassment and his voice slightly hoarse and shaking from the overstimulation.  
She has never seen him like this; his brows furrowed with concern for her and possibly the sweet arousal, and his oddly colored skin covered with a light sheen of sweat, such as hers. He seemed less intimidating and even more vulnerable, probably due to the fact that he was out of his element, and that’s what got her excited.

"It's alright.."

A sudden uneasiness begins to make itself present within her, once noticing she was getting off on his inexperience. Her words of reassurance and the compassionate rubbing of her poorly abused throat is the only thing restraining her from completely  
overwhelming his senses once again.  
She knew he didn't know what he was doing. Not just in the act of sex but in the changing of their feeling towards one another, and now suddenly she didn't know either..

 **"If you're done screwing this up for me then I'll have my turn now."** The baritone of black Zetsu impatiently voiced, making the anxious female's heart skip a beat. He was surprisingly eager.  
Akira could tell not only by his tone of voice, but by the way he latched an obsidian hand around her neck, pulling her into him and indulging himself with a lasting kiss. Rough enough to bruise and possessive enough to steal her breath away and hold it for ransom.

The sexual drive he laced within the kiss covered her like a fog, but without notice the uneasiness setting heavily in her stomach made her aware of a peculiar feeling.  
Like a lighthouse beacon clearing that lustful haze, there is nothing she can do to ignore it.  
It is fear and the most sobering kind.

Unintentionally straddling his lap, the topless kunoichi realizes her own vulnerability, and the blatant nervousness outweighing her desire for him.  
With his mouth covering hers and his arm tightening around her waist, she is unable to voice her apprehension.  
This ultimately sends her into a panic, his pale hand dipping underneath the hem of her coal colored pants and the other still firmly grasping her throat, almost as a show of dominance.  
She was afraid. The thought of two 'people' inhabiting her partner's body never frightened her before, but this time it was different. They're polar opposites.. and her need of control was completely denied from the ways his other half dominated her.  
She wasn't only about to have sex with one person but instead with two, and couldn't help but doubt herself if she was emotionally ready for any of this.  
Akira's unanticipated arousal never gave her the chance to think of the consequences behind her actions, and she was beginning to fear for their relationship once she committed to this choice.

She still clings to him though, unexpectedly feeling reluctant to tell him of her worries and not continue on with this, even when he breaks the lip lock to remove her last article of clothing.

The once flustered male that was shying away from her first advances now impatiently grounds his pulsating sex against hers. Slippery and awaiting, it betrays her conflicted thoughts and leaves her feeling more opposed to the situation by the second.  
No, she couldn't do this.

Abnormally colored hands gripped both of her wide spread thighs, his focus solely on her even through numerous kisses.

"No.. no more." She manages to protest. It wasn't his fault, it was hers. She convinced herself it was her hastiness that put herself in this predicament.

Drunk off her scent, the only thing Zetsu could do is give a drawn out noise of confusion. He was much too interested in finding the relief to his newly freed ' _problem_ '. 

"Senpai, I-I'm sorry. We can't do this."

The more he came to his senses, the more he was able to tear himself away from the smooth crevice of her silky neck and look her in the eye, almost as though he were searching for the answer.

"What?"

 

Holy hell. She felt terrible getting him worked up like this only to leave him high and dry. Even if she forced herself to go through with it, she wouldn't be able to look at herself the same again.

She had to be honest. It was the most plausible way to get him to understand.

"We can't do this." she repeats. " _I_ can't do this.."

His lovely golden eyes unclouded as though he were possessed by the demon Lust itself. They demanded a solution but she was unsure if she could give one.

"If I could do this I would, but I don't think I can. I'm afraid something will change between us.." she confessed.

Her hands slid down his chest gently, turning her face away from his gaze. It was hard to focus when she could see her reflection within his confused eyes.

"What are you talking about? How?"

Akira could pick up the evident irritation lacing his tone of voice. He was trying to suppress his annoyance towards her interruption, but a part of him just knew he shouldn't be upset.

"I don't know if you'll understand. At least not like this.."

She was right. He's still hot and bothered, but so is she. She had to get away before she did something she would regret. Well, if she hadn't already..

"I'm sorry.." Shes says, reluctantly untangling herself from him and pushing her still naked form off the bed.

"I just don't want to be the reason if something were to change between us." she explains collecting her clothes off the wooden floor.

"I mean I don't even know if there even is an _us_.." 

Poor Zetsu could see the worry written all over her face. He was having a hard time understanding what they meant to each other too, but he knew he didn't want her to leave.

"Wait, don't go. Are you really planning on leaving like this?" He questioned, watching her shuffle her fitted pants back on. He had to admit, his arousal could be one of the reasons why he is so anxious to keep her from dashing out of the room like a mad woman, but he also didn't want to know she would be all alone with some sort of concern on her mind.  
Especially if it involved himself.

He took his que to stand back up when she just unsurely shook her head in response.

"Is it something we did?" He asked softly, insinuating that he was aware that sharing a bed with two different beings could be difficult to handle.

Akira lowered her head out of guilt once he gently laid both his hands on her shoulders in some form of consolidation.  
She didn't want him to feel like this anymore, and leaving him without much of an explanation would probably make him feel even worse than she did.

"Of course not.." she says earnestly, turning his touch into an innocent embrace.

"I won't go, but I can't continue with this."

Zetsu's high was long gone. He knew nothing more could happen after this, at least not for tonight.  
With a small sigh of defeat he wraps his arms around her once again.

"I know.." He finally breathes.

Suppose you couldn't have your cake and eat it too, but he has her or perhaps he hopes he does.


	20. The Man Without A Heart

His lungs burned and his eyes stung from the tears still clinging to his pale cheeks. He had to get away.  
He couldn't just accept the fact that he was helpless to save the now lifeless forms that use to be his comrades, and his sister.  
_Kurou_. The name now brought up a million emotions welling up inside of him, ready to explode like a geiser.  
Hatred coursed through his veins hotter than a comet towards the man who he felt betrayed his trust.  
The anger was enough to send his strained legs into a direction he knew by heart.  
Through the countless thoughts pouring into his mind, Tenma is somehow able to focus his attention on an important factor. The one person he needed, most in this hour of tragedy and loneliness was Akira.  
He trusted the teenager as much as he trusted Kurou, but he knew she would do nothing to hurt him unlike the man she called her mentor.  
Tenma couldn't even begin where to start though when he arrived at the steps of their humble home, still attempting to catch his breath.  
He needed her help.  
He had an urge to just barge in there, fall to his knees and let out a much needed painful sob, but he couldn't even find it in him to take the first step.  
Something was stopping him.

 _'Is this really happening?'_  The question echoed through his mind and lingered like the smell of blood that's smeared all over his dark uniform.

If his world really _is_ crashing all around him like shards of a shattered mirror, then he had to fix this and he knew exactly who could do it, but he just couldn't take that first _fucking_  step.  
The two miniscule steps illuminated by the full moon taunted him like enormous gate keepers.  
He felt as though if he were to ascend them then he would be admitting to himself that a committed friend took the lives of his peers and his dear younger sister. He just didn't want to, and he couldn't or everything about him would change and he knew it.

Akira could take away this awful memory with her jutsu in return for her having to witness it herself.  
Tenma would never have to know the cruel reality of losing a significant other again. Only if she could free him from this emotional pain racking his body with silent sobs, could he have peace.  
Though he never wanted his life to lead up to this moment, where he is left with a choice to forget all the people that mattered to him, or change into the monster he was surely to become.

He continues to ponder the two choices when he hears a concerned voice call his name gently. He looks up, eyes dry but his cheeks still stained.

"Tenma, what happened?" Akira calls again, looking at him in confusion and fear. He blankly stares right back at her from her place at the doorway.  
She hadn't a clue as to what horrors he'd seen.  
He knew she could never even imagine Kurou sinking his blade into the rigid chest cavity of a helpless child, as he sputtered his own blood on the face of his killer. The sight alone made him vomit.  
The systematic massacre permanently burned the images into his eyes so they could forever replay their horrifying events over and over again.

"Akira.." The grieving brunette mumbled, gaze now fixated on the first wooden step just inches away from his feet.

"Do you trust him?" His tone is unnaturally calm.

The teenage girl could feel the ominous air surrounding her usually lively friend, as her normally steady hands began to shake with fear.

"Where's Kurou?" She eagerly questioned, hoping to quell her anxiety with a hopeful answer.  
His face scrunched in repulsion as he seemed to freeze her to the spot with a cold piercing gaze.

"..Do you trust him?" He repeated now ascending the first step. His choice made.

"W-Whats.. going on..? Where is he!?" Hoping to get an answer out of him she stood her ground but suddenly she found herself in the grips of terror when his towering figure looms over her.

_*Slam!*_

Tenma's shadow encompasses her as the palms of his hands smack behind either side of her head, entrapping her between the archway of the door and his much stronger body.

"You're not listening to me!" He practically yells, his irritated eyes brimming with tears once again as he fought them from spilling over the edge.  
He looked broken. A state she had never seen him in before. Her heart beat thrummed violently within her ears, and her voice cracked when she barely replied with a timid squeak.

"Y-Yes! I-I do!"

"Then you're just as lost as I am." He hisses through clenched teeth, attempting to keep himself from shouting at the still innocent teen.

"Tenma-kun.. y-you're scaring me.."

The delirious 24 year old, drunk on his own hatred almost instantly sobered up when he noticed Akira's cheeks wet with tears of fear and confusion.  
His guilt weighed heavier than a sack of stones slung over his shoulder.  
This mission was supposed to be as easy as the rehearsal. Kurou, Tenma and their experienced teammates had prepared for this task for weeks.  
Capturing a vessel for a bijū wasn't something of the norm, at least it wasn't for anybody who weren't Hanzō's special ops and trusted men.  
Tenma carried the heavy weight of his dead comrades on his back as soon as he reported back in to find Kurou with a blade in the belly of the child vessel, his friends lifeless around him.  
And now he felt ashamed for terrifying the only person he could trust, and bring her to tears.

"Akira-chan.. forgive me." He whispers as he pushes his face into the crook of her neck. Her warmth somehow grants him comfort as she suddenly becomes tense from the unexpected closeness.

"Kurou.. he killed them.. our whole squad a-and.. oh kami, Hana! I-I don't know how he could of done it but.." He couldn't finish with an explanation, the more he tried to remember the more it pained him.  
He cared for everyone of them, especially his sibling Hana. He made a promise that as long as they were assigned to the same squad then he'd always protect her. The thought of her believing that her protective older brother would rush to her aide in her last moments made his stomach twist with guilt.

" _Please_ ," he started, allowing himself to fully sob into her neck. His tears wetting her short lavender kimono.

"Take this memory from me! I can't live like this!"

Stunned, Akira stood there silently wide eyed.  
She has only gotten accustomed to this new jutsu and had only used it a few times. It's side effects were much too drastic for her to frequently use.  
There were headaches, fatigue, and even at times she could feel her own original memories being written over with the ones she'd taken from someone else, just like a memory card.

"You know I don't like doing that." The young shinobi says, beginning to imagine what Tenma actually saw. She didn't want to see Kurou like that, doing something so heinous.  
She idolized him, respected him and most importantly loved him. She is surprised just by the fact that she believes Tenma, but she knows there has to be some kind of justifiable reason behind it, right? Of Course! There always was..

"P-Please! Akira-chan, you can't leave me like this!" He pleaded, now looking her in the eye with every ounce of desperation he could muster.

"N-no..!" Doing her best to push him off of her, Akira hesitantly backs away from him once noticing the anger boiling up inside him.

"You have to! I can't take no for an answer.. I'm not the same.. I can feel it." He takes on an ominous tone as he traces her steps as she backs down the three steps of her porch, careful not to turn away from the now unpredictable man.

"I'm sorry, Tenma! Please try to understand. I don't think I would be able to handle it." She confesses, watching him lift his pale fingers up to languidly run it down his cheek with an abnormal look in his eyes.

"But I can't do this. Everything seems so.. _different_. It's like I've lost something very.. _elemental_." By now his words were just bleeding out of his mouth. He could feel his perception of reality now becoming warped, as the world he knew revealed itself as a much darker and terrifying place.  
"W-Wha-.. what are you going on about..?"

His change of personality was scaring her, she couldn't be around him any longer. She didn't know what he'd do in this unforeseeable state of mind.

"Just wait for Kurou to get back. I-I'm sure there has to be a reason for all of this." She says, feeling the sudden urge to run. Instinctively she did just that after the emotional male let out an unimaginable growl of frustration.  
He was beyond pissed! He couldn't even describe the feeling of shifting between a million emotions like it were a moment of channel surfing.  
He had to force himself to not chase after the frightened girl, or else he would probably do something he would regret because at the moment he fell to his knees - a cloud of dust cascading around him from the impact - he became uncomfortably aware of it all.  
The warm summer breeze of another beautiful night hitting his face gently, the translucent full moon beaming down on him like a spotlight, and the cicadas singing about another perfect season.

He would never be able enjoy any of these things ever again, or anything at all for that matter.  
Because now he is the only man who will walk the earth without a heart..

 

\---------づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ -------

 

"..-ra-chan… Akira-chan..! **Wake up, girl.** " 

 

"Mmmh..?"

Continuous black slowly formed shapes and colors.  
Dark green, pale white, and piecing yellow.

"You're crying."

Zetsu's voice stirred her from the restless dream.  
Her eyes finally focused on his face, so close to hers she could feel the inhalation of his breath.  
The barely aware female only pulled the white sheets of his bed around her tighter, not realizing she had only entangled herself around the dichromatic akatsuki member even more.

"Ehh? Don't fall back asleep! Akira!" He whispered a little louder, hoping to get her attention once again.

It worked a she finally opened her eyes with alertness. Laying on her stomach, she lifted herself up by her forearms to hover over him a bit.  
Her attention now entirely his.

"..What is it..? Is something wro-" she stops mid sentence upon noticing the drops of water falling down from her face and plopping onto his cheeks.  
They were tears. Had she really been crying?

Zetsu lay on his back staring up at her with an equally confused expression.

"You were talking in your sleep.. **guilty conscience perhaps?** " They question, watching her sit up and finger the murky tears wetting her face.  
The familiar heat slowly rising to her cheeks conveys her embarrassment, as she wipes away any of the remaining evidence with the back of her hand.  
Such a vulnerable state for him to see her in, but perhaps he had seen her in worse before.  
She had to admit if she were to let anybody see her like this then it would be him. Her one and only.. friend.. in the past few years.  
At least that is the only thing she can think to title him with besides partner.

"No.. it was just a memory I guess, but the strange thing is that it wasn't my own." she hesitantly confesses, her judgement still a little clouded with sleep.

The now much more interested male copies her movements from before, and sits up with her, the thin white blankets pooling around them both with them still as naked as they were a couple of hours ago.

"Uhh… What do you even mean by that?" White Zetsu curiously asks.

"I-I don't know. I was there, but I was just experiencing the memory as someone else."

Becoming more aware of her nudity, the kunoichi slowly pulls the sheet up with a single hand to bring it protectively to her chest.

"The funny thing is that I can't even remember the memory as myself anymore.. like I just forgot it." She further explains as her free hand clutches the side of her skull, predicting an oncoming headache.

**"You said a name.."**

Akira watched as Zetsu averted his gaze from what seemed to be an internal conflict.  
She could hardly tell if he was conversing with his other half in his head or just embarrassed by their nudity. She got her answer when he made a face of annoyance and whispered something that confirmed her suspicions.

"I'm not asking her.. you do it.."  
Thankfully the female shinobi is a patient person.  
She waited for him to work up the nerve to ask her something apparently. Which seemed so unlike him, since he usually said whatever was on his mind..

A small sigh finally escaped his color split lips, and for a second there she could almost see a slight apologetic look in his eyes as he returned her gaze once again.

"You _did_ say a name.. in your sleep that is."

He had seen the name before engraved on her kunai when he trained with her. He knew the person had to mean a lot to her, and he is curious as to exactly who it is. As a matter of fact, he had a feeling Madara would probably find this pretty interesting too..

"Ahh I didn't mean to. Did I happen to wake you?" she sheepishly asks. The thought of him hearing something personal slip from her lips formed a ball of anxiety in her chest.

" **We don't need sleep.** " Black Zetsu's clarification unnerved her even more but before she could dwell on the ideas of what he could of done when she was sleeping, the other half had something else in mind.

"Who is Kurou?"

Akira froze, her head swimming from the array of emotions pulling her mind every which way.  
Hearing his name spill from another person's lips made her stomach churn uncomfortably as she just stared at him blankly at a loss of words.

Had she really cried out his name? Even in her sleep she could never really find peace..

"Heh.. Who is he..?" She practically muses, eyes cast downward in thought as she fingered the material of the sheets mindlessly.  
Zetsu's eyes widened with intrigue, taking in the small details of her lips twitching into a melancholic smile after a few moments of silence.

"He was.." Her best friend, role model, guardian, teacher, team mate.. and so much more.  
All of that had been brutally taken from her, and now she is expected to move on like he never really existed. It was the only solution to cope with it at least. To act as though he never made an impact in her life, but lately her life has revolved more around the white haired shinobi now that he's dead rather than when he was alive.  
It was hard to forget even when she was suppose to, like when she is suppose to be enjoying a restful slumber, but apparently she couldn't dismiss the memory of him even with that.

The point is that Kurou meant everything to her, but in truth he was "..somebody best left forgotten." Akira finally says. Her small sentimental smile dropping into a frown as he attempted to dismiss his question with laying back down on her side, her naked back facing towards him coldly.

Zetsu's nosiness was going to get the best of him like it always did. He wasn't about to let her off the hook so easily, even if he knows the subject is probably a little touchy for her.

"But you haven't forgotten, have you?" He relentlessly inquires, leaning back on his forearms so his head almost touches the pillow.

The beautiful woman sighs in uncertainty, feeling entitled to answer him even if it meant bringing up old feelings.

 

"Is it that obvious?" It is hardly a question but she still heard him hum lazily in affirmation.

"I lived here in Amegakure with him.." she starts. Zetsu doesn't see the nostalgic smile curling the corners of her lips like a child, but he could hear it in her voice.

"At that time I was someone completely different. Akira no Ame was the name I lived by, and that was because I loved this country. I even swore to protect it and it's people when I enlisted during Amegakure's civil war." She explains, eyes focused outside the small window across the room. The clouds lightened up to a lavender as dawn was inevitably near..

"I've noticed most of the other akatsuki members had such a promising past too. I don't think anyone could of ever imagined that they would end up in an organization like this." Zetsu notes, becoming more and more interested in her 'story'.

"I hate to think that I'm probably one of them honestly." She grimaces slightly, knowing that it was probably true.

"Kurou and I both would lay down our lives for the place we called home, and we knew others who would do the same. A man named Tenma was one of them. I trusted him as much as I did Kurou, and as long as him and Kurou were dear friends then so were we. In truth, I was probably more naïve than I would like to admit, but I suppose we both were.. Kurou never saw the people running this country for what they really were. Shinobi like us are made to not question their leaders even if you didn't rightly agree with their philosophy. Though when Kurou was forced to eliminate every member of his squad, he did just this."

The reminiscing kunoichi turns to lay on her back, eyes planted on the cracked white ceiling as she feels more comfortable with verbally exposing herself to him.

"I-I.. regret the choices I made the day Tenma told me of what he did. I made.. a mistake.. I could of helped him forget and prevented him from betraying me..!" She confesses in hurried whispers, as though she were saying these things more to herself than to the nosy male beside her.  
The dream is still fresh in her mind. If she knew how Tenma felt than she could of changed her mind and helped him, but she was still afraid to see Kurou commit such a heinous act..

"Tenma planned everything. No matter how many times I try to think of ways I could of done something different, there was never really a way to prevent it. If I had my chance then I blew it a long time ago." It hurt for her to admit it, but the feeling of releasing this pent up pain really granted her a small sense of relief.

"Is he dead?" Zetsu pipes up, hoping to hear that he was. What he got though was more than he could of imagined..

Akira's one thousand mile stare shifts quicker than flipping on a light switch , as the off guard akatsuki sees her direct her cold and unbending gaze towards him.

"Heh, I hunted him down just like I did with those monstrous officials that conspired against me. When I saw that rat.." ..she didn't even recognize him. The strain of his smile, the unfamiliarity in his eyes - she couldn't even recognize him. He had changed and she could tell that he himself knew it too.  
_'Was all our time together spent in vain?'_ a much younger Akira would ask herself as she swung her blade at the man who became her mortal enemy on a dime. When the steel of his katana cracked against hers and his eyes widened with the type of fear that she could of only imagined, she realized this was the moment she had anticipated, dreamed of, prayed for.  
To see the way he looks before his life flashes before his eyes. The moment he realizes he is completely helpless. Akira knew it had made her sick with some sort of power trip by the way she flung her hands out and clasped her fingers around his neck in attempt to lengthen his demise..  
The feeling of his throat being slowly crushed like a gazelle between a lions teeth brought her an irreplaceable sense of fulfillment.  
"It's.. all your.. f-fault." He would gasp between her relentless and deadly grip.  
Finally, during the time when it came to spill his blood like she had done to so many, she never faltered.  
Her right hand remained steady as she quickly stuck out three fingers and reach towards the watery orbs glaring up at her with animosity. With a flurry of motion she dug her nails into his socket, yanked as hard as she could, pulling out the dark brown eye of her enemy and says, "An eye for an eye.."

Zetsu remained silently shocked by what the reminiscing female had to say. Her bloody tale of revenge unnerved him and that is one of the first times someone has made him feel this type of.. discomfort. Unless you were Orochimaru.. he freaked everyone out.

"..Ew.." was the only response he could come up with. As the other half could be heard snickering quietly.

" **How befitting. The act of retribution is most satisfying**." Black Zetsu comments, unusually pleased with her.

Akira slowly sits up and leans on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling off and her posture slightly hunched. "You're right.. at the moment it was and I wanted nothing more than to see him suffer, but now.." she trails off looking at the hands in her lap.

" **Wishing you could do it all over again?** " Black Zetsu pipes up once more, hoping that'd be her answer.  
He couldn't help but like this vengeful side of her, it reminded him a lot of himself.

"No.. I was just thinking how he must of died filled with hate." She quietly explains. The guilt tugging on her heart like harp strings.

"Oh..?"

"Now I understand why. Because it really was my fault."

Of course Zetsu cares about his partners wellbeing, at least White Zetsu does to a certain degree.  
At times he finds himself struggling to console her when she periodically feels the urge to doubt herself. He has been alone for years, and had no one to truly care about besides himself.  
Though his inability held him back with some human social matters, he was taught to be manipulative and well spoken when need be.  
So he felt a sense of entitlement to personally deal with her self loathing himself.

"If you would of known what you do now would you still make the same choices?"  
His earnestness catches her off guard as she lifts her head slightly to signal that she was listening.

"I may not know the whole story, or how you feel exactly.." He's having a rather harder time doing this than expected. Perhaps it's because he actually has to mean what he says, instead of relying on his usually on point ability of coercion.

"..but maybe this was something that couldn't be prevented. Well, not anymore maybe, but at the time ya did what you could. Shouldn't that count for something?" He explains, sitting back up to place a comforting white hand on her bare shoulder.  
For once in his life he was beginning to tune in on his sense of sympathy.

"You don't get it, do you..?" She should of been comforted by his words but for one reason or another she felt even more confused and angry.  
It was like all the repressed animosity she chained up with lock and key suddenly unleashed within her like a tidal wave. This uncontrollable exasperation she feels isn't meant for him, but it was being taken out on him as pressure began to build up around her temples. A familiar pain she dreaded would return.

Roughly shrugging off his comforting gesture, the irritated beauty finally stands, oblivious to the vulnerability she should of felt from her undeniable nudity as she glowered down at him.  
"Think what you will, but I wasn't meant for this!" She manages to exclaim through gritted teeth. The pain now much more distinguished as it racked her body with waves of agony.  
In hope of subduing some of the tension, Akira helplessly grips the side of her skull, uncertain as to why this pain and emotional outburst was happening.

"A-Akira-chan, you're eye..! **It's bleeding.** " Zetsu says, watching blood pool around the rim of her right eye, the eye that unbeknownst to him stored the memories she stole from others with her jutsu. He is even more confused than her but for different reasons obviously.  
This seemed totally unlike her to just suddenly erupt in anger. Sure, she could be emotional at times and yes, he did actually like that because it is something that he felt he lacked at times, but this was completely unexpected. Instead of her usual absentmindedness and her occasional distest for her own self (which she seemed to verbally express quite often) she's acting as if she's a completely different person. Like she had _changed_.. 

"I-I.." She stammers, ultimately at a crossroads on how she should react but her mouth and mind felt like it had been taken over with feelings that weren't exactly hers, and unknown to her they originated from Tenma. His memories had just haunted her while she slumbered and now the anger he had felt towards himself, Kurou, Akira, and even the shinobi world itself now channels through her like a case of possession. The origination is unapparent to her, but she knows this isn't who she is.

"..This wasn't suppose to happen! Not to _us_. If Akira would have only of taken that memory from me then I wouldn't have ch-.." Wait a minute. "..anged.."

 _'Akira?'_  But she _is_ Akira.. _'So_ _that_ _could_ _only_ _mean.._ ' The realization hit her harder than being smacked over the head with a pillow case filled with bricks.

"I'm sorry, but I can't be around you! Not like this!" she exclaims, scooping up her clothes as quick as she could and throwing them on like a mad woman.

"H-Hey! Wait just a minute!" white Zetsu pleads, noticing that this wasn't just a rerun of last night, there was something actually wrong with her, and it isn't just a case of the nerves.

As Zetsu moves in an attempt to stop the distressed woman, his actions are brought to a halt by a black hand gripping his wooden dresser in protest.

" **Not** **this** **again**." black Zetsu seethes. " **Let** **her** **go**." 

"Eh? Are you crazy? No way!"

Unable to move the other half of his body, he panicked watching Akira finish dressing herself and quickly head towards the door.

" **Listen** **to** **me** **for** **once** , **you** **idiot**. **There's** **nothing** **you** **can** **do** **to** **fix** **this**." 

Maybe he was right, but white Zetsu could sense that his other half was hiding something, but for the moment his current problem was closing the door and leaving him with his own thoughts to keep him company.

"Akira-chan.." he whispers sincerely, hands balling up into fists. If she only knew this feeling he felt when he watched her leave. The warmth that usually followed with her disappeared and left his heart to bare a winter alone..


	21. The Kiss of an Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back! But for how long?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made myself really sad writing this.. I'll be answering a lot of unanswered questions next chapter by the way sorry!

 

_“You’re not looking for names. Just head south of the market district and you’ll come across a little flower shop. That’s where she’ll be.“_

  
 Akira knew the loneliness this traditional flower shop felt. Despite it being so close to bustling districts and other attractions beckoning bystanders through their doors, this undiscovered beauty hid itself away from the world in a small rainy corridor near it all.  Much like herself, strangers wouldn’t give its charm a second glance.  
It’s well tended greenery hanging from the portico which was covered in ivy, and the creamy, dull, white paint that seemed out of place for Amegakure’s monotonous steel buildings of grey.  Perhaps its originality is greatly underappreciated or maybe Akira was just feeling misunderstood.

This morning and last night’s events has haunted the Senju descendant all evening.

 The dream of Tenma brought up a lot of buried feelings she hoped would never surface again.  She was foolish to believe that it wasn’t inevitable, though perhaps this was just a small habit that rubbed off on her from her partner.  Zetsu does have a tendency to be almost over confident about his future, or at least that was just the way she saw it.. That man really did unspeakable things to her. She could never figure out how he could calm her nerves with just a few well placed words, or how he could just sense whatever was on her mind, and even understand her feelings better than she could herself at times. He is remarkable in her eyes, and she was so close to finding herself committing to him, but at the very last second she hesitated instead.  She was afraid of the confrontation it would undeniably ensue. Maybe not by him but by herself.

  
 She couldn’t trust herself from asking the question ‘What are we?’ afterwards. 

The physical need for him was completely unbearable, and she knew he felt it too, but was it really worth the price of such a change?  She really didn’t know, but she wishes she did.  Leaving him without some kind of answer granted her a sense of guilt that hung over her like a wet blanket. The unfamiliar anger that surged through her muscles like a physical tension was unfortunately taken out on him. She could only imagine what he thought as he sat there watching her on the bed completely dumbfounded.

  
She would probably wonder if he thought she was crazy but, hell everyone in the Akatsuki was. Though Akira wished she could of summed it up all to insanity, she knew she had to face this very real problem that was not only affecting her but the person she cared for too.  
 That’s how she found herself here.  Attempting to explain herself to the ‘florist’ in hopes that she may find herself some answers.  This was someone who worked on the reconnaissance team during Ame’s war?  She's so old.. her bleary blind eye unintentionally stared at Akira like she were some deceptive art piece. Her skin lightly tanned, and wrinkly like old leather.. but her smile was as beautiful and as youthful as a childs.  The Senju couldn’t fathom someone like her seeing the terrors of war like she had.  If Kurou were to be alive to this day he would of probably only have been in his early thirties.  So it doesn’t make much sense. She has to shake the thought away though. This had to be the right person, the old veteran seemed to know who she was as she returns to her with a small flower vase in hand and something else..

 "That 'friend’ of ours mentioned that you needed to deliver this. Here..” The aged woman sticks her occupied hands out towards the notorious shinobi, her eyes hiding something Akira just can’t uncover, but she accepts the item anyways, albeit reluctantly.

  
 “What do you mean deliver..?”

 “He’ll be expecting you. Now please go..” is all the florist says before passing Akira a small parchment with an expecting glance for her to leave.  
 “H-hold on a minute! I’m not even sure you know what you’re tal-”

 “Kanbayo~!” a man drawls from behind Akira, unintentionally interrupting her as he enters with another patron. 

The old woman’s face lights up like the sun, obviously pleased with their presence as she takes this as an initiative to focus her attention on the customers. Their chatter fills the room like it would for any other market, but in this particular moment it leaves her ultimately annoyed.

  
 “..What the hell was that all about?” Akira grumbles, feeling the obligation to leave the stubborn old woman. She didn’t even get a single answer, or the florists name even. She was just stuck holding an oversized clay vase, confused and brooding.  
  _'Is this some kind of joke?’_ she thought, a feeling of disappointment sinking in.  

She glances over the piece of paper that was forced into her free hand.

 It’s an address. “Of course.” She can’t deliver it without knowing where to go, but did that shop keeper really expect her to play mailman or something?  Akira should’ve just forgot about it and went home.  She should’ve just believed that this was all just some sort of sick joke to mess with her. She should’ve just marched back in there and demanded some sort of a answer!

  
 But for some reason she didn’t.  Something within herself kept her from crumpling up the paper and tossing it into the gutter like a piece of trash. Instead she pondered the old woman’s words.

  
  _'He’ll be expecting you.’_ Just who exactly is this person..? It was just yesterday when she spoke with the man from the festival, and now everything seemed like it was planned. Akira concludes that this isn’t just some moment of spontaneity. There is a reason she is being drawn to following through with this ridiculous order. She just needs to figure out why.. No matter how ridiculous, Akira has made up her mind.  Shielding her damp hair from Amegakure’s relentless rain, she pulls her thatch kasa back on and clutches the old green and white piece of pottery even tighter.  

 

 

◢☯◣ ❋ ❃ ❀ (◡﹏◡✿) ✿ ❁ ✾ ◢☯◣

 

 

 

_*Shlaf! Shlaf!*_

  
 Mud.

  
 It stuck to her boots like scotch tape. Every other step she took up the rural hill top caused her to get more and more stuck in the wet soil. She struggles against it, forcing much needed strength into her legs as she still clutches the vase like it were a security blanket.  
 Akira stares at the thick, leafless tree on top of the flat peak of the hill.  
Her determined eyes glued to it as though if she stared at it long enough she would just some how teleport there instead of having to traverse something as troubling as this.

She accomplished hours of walking and constant requests for directions, only to have something as simple as mud preventing her from meeting whoever this mystery man is. Suppose she hasn’t come this far to give up now, but the struggle of preventing herself from sinking into the thick cakey mud was becoming too difficult.  It was now coming up to her shins, and forcing her in place like quick sand.  No matter how light the sprinkles of rain were, the once minuscule annoyance grew into a much more life threatening dilemma and sparked the panic simmering beneath her former collected exterior like a flame to a trail of gasoline.  She knew it would only submerge her farther into it.  As the wet soil began to rise further up her legs, Akira’s shaking hands instinctively dropped the vase she clutched so tightly in hopes she can pull herself free from the earths hold.

 _'Could this be the work of another shinobi nearby?’_  She fearfully thought in her state of hysteria.

  
No, it couldn’t be. She never sensed any chakra during her trek here.. but the suffocating mud now slowly covering her up to the neck didn’t relinquish any clues as to what was happening.  This wasn’t right! It couldn’t just end here. This entire situation was so unnatural, she never foresaw it coming. Her heart sunk into the depths of her chest such as she into the mud, as she felt the waves of fear and something of disappointment poke at her from the dark corners of her mind.

"You both need to understand what were fighting for.“ The familiar voice that could of convinced Akira to follow any ridiculous command without hesitation cut through her consciousness.

  
 The lingering panic she had felt had only ignited a flurry of worrisome thoughts within her mind.  She couldn’t decide whether she were alive or dead, or perhaps she was neither.  
The infinite black blinded her, and the numbing sensation slowly polluting her senses only allowed her to curve the sadness threading itself within her heart. 

It was _his_ voice… and it sounded so youthful despite the serious tone Kurou was using.     With her mind starting to focus in on it, she heard another voice too, and unfortunately she knew this one all too well.

"A _coup_..? You think just the three of us can manage something as dangerous as that?” Tenma spoke, his voice was cold and sharp, like the sound of a blade sliding across a whetstone.

“I would commend you for your bravery but I’m stunned by your recklessness, Kurou.”  
Akira had known this conversation like it were an old enemy, and it took place at a very crucial point in her life. She was there once again in their old home.  
Modest tatami mat beneath their feet and not a spec of dust on the rikoudou sennin murals randomly set up around the one level house.  She remembered ceremonially cleaning them as Kurou would remind her of their meaning as shinobi. To use this God given power to protect the ones you cared for, and find independence in no one but yourself.

 _'He was right, but even learning under someone like him I still failed.’_  She thought but if she listened close enough her musing could be heard echoing around her like a muted muffle of movement. For a second she thought she briefly saw the dark brown eyes of Tenma flicker towards her as they stood congregated around the large oak table in discussion. They couldn’t have.. This was just a dream, right? She had dreamt of memories before, but somehow this one was different.

"No, he’s right. This is the only way we’ll be able to put a stop to Hanzō.” She says, her words and actions forced from her as she glances over at the future traitor.  This whole situation reeked of melancholy and nostalgia, but that wasn’t all that she felt. There was something very wrong here, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly. She didn’t dwell on the feeling as long as she should've when the white-haired male briefly caught her gaze.  
In the few seconds he spent, he was able to melt her heart with a soft look of appreciation glazed over his lazy black eyes.  She had almost forgot how much she loved being in his presence. _Almost_. 

“This is insane.. Do you two have any clue as to what would happen to us if anybody were to find out? Death would be more desirable than anything else he has in store for us.” The brunette exclaims as he clenches his fist in annoyance. Even speaking of such a thing could mean trouble, especially since the war was near its peak.  
Kurou places a hand on his hip as he lowers his head in thought. His expression conflicted as he has to decide between risking his life and the lives of his friends or losing his beloved country to a raging dictator.  It pained the younger kunoichi to see him so concerned.       Her fingers almost instinctively moves to cover his free hand resting on the wooden table.

  
“Kurou..” She whispers sweetly, giving the back of his hand a small reassuring squeeze. Again they exchange looks that spoke a million words before he settled his eyes on his trusted friend Tenma.

“I never wanted to make a decision like this, but after what happened..” He trails off, uncomfortable going into full detail in front of the brunette.  
He knew what he had meant though. The already war torn twenty-three old’s jaw visibly clenched. He had lost his sister and squad to the orders of a tyrant and by the hand of his best friend. That day had not only changed him, but Kurou too.

“..This isn’t just for avenging them.. This is for the people who we would have to avenge if Hanzō continues to carry on with his tyranny. If anyone were to understand, it would be you.” He tells him.  
Tenma’s fist shakes with anger, remembering how much he had lost to things such as politics and war.

_*Slam!*_

His trembling balled up fist connects into the abused table in grief, realizing the life threatening actions he would have to take..  It was completely unfair.

“Do I even have a choice then..?”

Actually, no he didn’t. If it meant finally ridding this world of a murderous authoritarian than he had too. The silence following his question only agreed.

“Tenma-kun, I can’t promise you this will fix everything, but it will prevent anything like that ever happening again.” The teenage girl finally says, in hopes of swaying him, but he isn’t convinced. A quiet sigh releases the tension in his joints, as his posture relaxes before turning away from the two, head sunken low in thought.  
Always the mediator, Akira tears herself away from her kind hearted sensei to comfort her close friend and squad mate. His long slender fingers hold the bridge of his regal nose as he seemed to be fighting the idea of agreeing to their notion.  
Placing a hand of support on his shoulder she hopes to ease his mind like she usually does.

“As shinobi of Amegakure it is our duty to face death nearly everyday, but this time we are not only confronting it, we are putting a stop to it. You already made the choice when you first held your hitai-ate..” She says, watching the fingers clasping his face touch the smooth metal of his headband which hung loosely around his neck.  She feels the need to continue when he looks at her from out of the corner of his eye, silently letting her know she had his attention.  
“When we first make the decision to become shinobi, we make the decision to defend its meaning even if it means our death. You’re not just some mercenary who’s opinion will change for cheap coin. You know what's right or wrong, and you have to take a stand on that.” She explains, a gentle smile breaking on her face.

“But you're not alone. You have us and we’ll be there to make those choices with you. Just like today.”

She could almost hear him mumble her name in annoyance as she seemed to get through to him. Usually she was pretty good at understanding him, and being able to make him see things through her eyes. He hated to admit it but, he had always had a soft spot for the much smaller female, though lately he had been fighting the anger he had felt towards her and Kurou too. Unfortunately, his rage would only consume him, but for now he caved.

“..Well if you two are so smart, then how should we go about this?”  
Kurou and Akira relax upon hearing this. They needed him more than he knew.

“Right.. If your word is true, then there’s no reason for you to not bind it in blood, hm?” Mischievously Kurou pulls out his kunai. The one his sensei gave him and the one he’ll later give to Akira as tradition. Their names engraved in the steel as time seems to overlook its condition and leave it glinting in the candle light.  
Crimson pours from his hand as he smoothly slices open the skin of his palm with just a fraction of a wince gracing his handsome features.  
Akira gets the hint as Kurou tosses the blade towards her.  He knew she would do it without a moment of hesitation and that she did, as blood spilt out from underneath the blade, but he didn’t take that for granted.  He knew she wasn’t just making this choice for him. She wasn’t a blind follower and knew she loved this country and its people as much as he did, and that she would die for it. She was just happy she didn’t have to do it alone.

“This may not mean much to some but, I entrust it will for both of you.” Kurou says, outstretching his hand for her to take. His faith in Akira didn't go unrewarded as she gripped his bleeding hand almost instantly, allowing the silent bond signify their circumstantial kinship.

"I will not fail you!" She announces, the determination gleaming within her enamoring eyes.

Tenma on the other hand only wearingly glances at him and the hand he gestures for him to take. The soft, almost lazy like smile never leaving Kurou's lips.  
Tenma use to appreciate his ability to remain so easy going, but now as he stood before him expecting his loyalty after everything he'd been through.. it only angered him. He knew it was wrong to feel this way, but the sickening sense of knowing that the most important people in his life died by _his_ hand only strengthened the brunette's growing resentment.

This could of been a sick variation of the Kiss of Judas, knowing of your own betrayal but contradicting yourself with an action of trust and platonic intimacy. Though he just couldn't help himself. Taking Kurou's hand expecting to feel something wonderful like mutual trust, but only feeling a sense of gratification knowing someday he would lay waste to his existence like he had done him.

His only purpose in life was becoming similar to an untreated wound. Festering in its own affliction and pain, and worsening with the unforgiving flow of time. He could feel it clouding his need to rationalize as his heart sank when turning to see the unwavering faith held in his female comrades eyes.

"Tenma-kun.. I got your back." She simply says, a hand extending towards him with a promise of reassurance.

The acceptance and love she felt back then was so strong it overwhelmed the way she felt for him in the present day. Reflecting on the memory, she should be feeling the anger and frustration she's held in for years, but somehow it is replaced with strange emotions she hadn't felt in a very long time. Her heart swelling with the unknowingly misplaced admiration that she would later learn to be pointless. Though for now as he moved to grip her hand with his much larger one, she allowed the forgotten feeling to envelop her with a pleasant warmth spreading through her.  That is until..

"I wish I could say the same." Tenma says coldly.

 _'W-What the hell..?'_ she thought watching her bloody hand reach for his, but upon contact her fingers seemed to melt like chocolate left out in the hot sun. Something so unnatural couldn't be possible, could it?  She didn't have time to think about it when the traitor lifted his free hand to reveal Kurou's kunai he still grips and swings at her with deadly intentions. With barely a moment to react to his skilled finesse, she immediately moves to dodge his attack, but has trouble being able harness the ability of her own free will.  
Blood poured from her forehead like water as she realized he must of nicked her in the process. The comparison of both their skills being evident with just a single flick of his wrist. The adrenaline rushing through her made her head swim worse than the quick snap of her neck did.

 _'This... this never happened!'_  
Indeed it didn't. The memory originally consisted of him going through with it, a small smile gracing his face as their life blood intertwined their fates.  
But this was completely different. Her trust was never supposed to be betrayed in this moment, and she was never supposed to be dodging another quick slice of his blade!  
Something was wrong though. Her hand.. It just _melted_ like a plastic pen cap over a lighters flame but now as she gazes upon it, it's appearance is completely unblemished..

"How unfortunate. It seems you both are able to resist it." the venomous snake still holding Kurou's blade seethes with evident annoyance in his tone.

".. _Both?_ " The dove with wounded wings turns to see her companion reaching for his Kodachi ( _a short tachi sword_ ) strapped to his long, slender, thigh. The struggle written all over his face as his fingers grip the hilt of it but refuse to remove it from its scabbard. It was though his actions were being controlled, and unlike Akira he was having a harder time regaining his free will, but why him? Isn't he supposed to be dead?

"Kurou!" She instinctively calls out to him, rushing to his side until seeing the glint of the kunai flipping in Tenma's hand almost playfully, before he launches it towards the white haired ninja.

No, no, no! She wouldn't let him die again, damnit! The pain was just too much.  
She hasn't a clue if she is already dead, but if she is that wouldn't stop the heartbreak it would cause for her to witness him die by Tenma's hand _again_.   
Almost without thinking, she bends her knee up and slams the heel of her boot down so hard on the end of the table that it loses its balance, and comes crashing down on its side.

_*Thunk!*_

The sharp point of the thrown kunai wedges into the dark wood shielding the two like a fortress wall. A grunt of annoyance can be heard escaping the brunette's lips as Akira releases a sigh of relief, even though she knew this was far from over.  
The thick, musty smell of the candles extinguishing filled the air as the room became pitch dark and the heavy smoke rose from the burnt wicks rather unpleasantly.  
With their only light source gone besides the moon glaring in through the window, the kunoichi could only sense his chakra still resonating in the large room.

"Akira.. this isn't easy, ya know? I'm not happy with the cards I've been dealt but, that doesn't mean you should make this any harder for me." Tenma says, the shadow enshrouds him even further as he lifts his hands to perform a few seals.  
Was he trying to get her sympathy?

Through the millions of shades of darkness, a piercing, white moon cut through the dark purple sky that is suddenly above her, and ever so softly illuminated her surroundings. The flipped wooden table she leaned up against miraculously became cold stone and the immaculate floors underneath them suddenly changed to moist soil.  
 Peering down, a sensation of fear overcame her. If she didn't know any better she would of thought this place was a graveyard..  
"Akira-chan.." It was a mere whisper countering Kurou's actual feelings of confusion and anxiety.  Akira gazed at his form only a few steps away from her. His left hand still holding the hilt of kodachi, as he seemed to be rather calm despite the circumstances. For as long as she could remember, Kurou always remained unflustered somehow.  Even in the face of danger, and even when he was breathing his last breaths.  It is always something she admires about him, but now as she catches his gaze, his eyes appear wild and unsure. She hadn't a clue as to why until she saw it. Kurou's narrow, dark grey eyes followed the outline of the decrepit hand lunging out of the dirt below his female companion. His composure slowly cracking as he watches the fingers grip her ankle with brute like strength. The pale white - almost green - hand squeezed her ankle so viciously it was to a point it nearly tore her smooth skin from the muscle.  
 A yelp of pain caught in her throat as the rough hiss of metal filled her ears when the shinobi's short sword finally leapt from its scabbard.

_*Shlack!*_

The rigid cut of flesh and bone echoed off the cold steel that decaptiated the arm still attached to her boot, but with no ability to claw at her like some rabid dog.

"What in the _fuck_ was that!?" Akira nearly shouts, kicking the limb off her in a flurry of spastic movements.

"Heh, suppose you never really listened to me when I use to lecture you about watching your language." Kurou mused, completely unfazed as he pulled the tip of the blade out from the soil.  
   
"O-Oi! I'm not just a kid anymore! I'll have you know that I'm a very mature adu-.."

Wait a minute. She _is_ an adult! Though just a moment ago wasn't she a teenager?  
Although slightly blurry from the blood dripping down from her forehead and into her eye, the white mold covering the missing pieces of her right arm came into her field of vision, as she realized she was reverted back to her present self somehow.  
The chalky white spores countering the color of her natural skin tone reminded her of Zetsu's doing, and how a piece of the present was there to remind her of it.  
Had this been because it was just a memory, and perhaps Tenma was taking advantage of that to strike? She had no idea, but for the moment she was content with herself as of now. She has Kurou once again by her side flushed her with a sense of fulfillment, as if when he was gone a piece of her was missing.  
The feeling was so strong it threatened her with tears ready to spill from the brim of her eyes, but she wouldn't allow them to. He stood towering over her crouched form, a look of appreciation and _pride_ contorting his expression.  
He must be feeling it too..

"Even for such a filthy mouth, you've really grown to be even more beautiful than I anticipated." He playfully comments while sheathing his kodachi. His dominant left hand reaching for a strand of her hair catches her off guard as he once again appreciates her beauty with a small smile curling the corners of his full lips.

"Your hair.." he trails off thoughtfully, his voice barely above a whisper as he pulls the strand to his nose and breathes in her scent.

 _'Even the smell of her hair has changed..'_ He mentally noted, slightly unhappy with all the differences there were compared to how he knew her, a teenager.

Akira's cheeks burn hotter than the sun just by witnessing him treat her as though she were a long forgotten lover that he recently rediscovered his feelings for again.  
It felt strange, but that didn't deter her. In some sense or another, the way he smoothed his fingers down the loose strand and caressed her cheek with a single hand felt right. She couldn't name a time that she had ever felt this way before.  
Not even with Zetsu, the person she trusted most in the present day.  
It was probably because she had never met another person like him. His individuality is completely original and she found herself trying to refill the hole he made when he left, but unfortunately he was irreplaceable.

"K-Kurou.."

He merely watches the tears cascade down her cheeks and drip on to his fingers languidly, a strange smirk warping his usually unemotional expression.

"I've missed you so much!" she cries, throwing her arms around his back in a heart wrenching hug. Oh how it ached when she felt she would never be able to do that again. Never to hear his laugh, or see the rare genuine smiles he reserved just for her.  
She felt almost giddy being able to hold herself up against him again, and nuzzle her face into his old black and grey Amegakure uniform even closer.  
"I know." Is his only solemn and remorseful reply. His chest ached with an unfamiliar pain that could only be amounted to guilt. He didn't know why he felt that her despair was his fault but a nagging feeling in his gut told him it probably had to do with something involving him.

"Akira, this might sound strange, but I can't remember a single thing about what happened to me.. I'm not sure even if I'm really here or if.. this is all just a dream.. or a _nightmare_ really." He confessed, sensing a sudden wash of confusion and gloom ready to consume him. It only made him pull her even closer to himself, her flushed, tear stained cheek resting against his chest as he reminisced about his very last memory.

_"Tenma..." He heard Akira hiss murderously.  She spat his name like she had sucked out the venom of a poisonous snake and was eager to flick its toxins from the tip of her tongue, but why him? What had he done that could make her despise him so terribly? When his hands and fingers still caressing the side of his cherished protégés cheek became numb, so did his mind.  
He knew he was ultimately succumbing to deaths lethargic pull, and was slowly becoming apathetic to the unknown deception that brought him to this state._

_"..Heh..." He gave a close eyed smile before hacking violently, sputtering his blood on her delicate face in the process. Her eyes remained unblinking as he did so, as if she never wanted to detach her gaze from his until she finished watching the last flame of life flicker from his murky, grey eyes.  He could see how helpless she was to the anguish wrapping its inky black tendrils around her chest, tearing out her heart and leaving sense of emptiness where he was sure her innocence was.  
He wanted to say something. He always did. He had never left her feeling an ounce of pain when he could because he always had the right things to say whenever she experienced heartbreak. That's just one of the reasons why she loved him._

_"......!" Nothing.. Only the quiet sound of her tears splattering against his face as they rolled down her cheeks lazily. God, he tried though, but he could hardly even take in a single breath without it being shaky and shallow. He just wanted to help, but he couldn't even help himself. '..How pathetic..' He thought to himself as he could feel his self mouthing her name in desperate attempt to hotwire his useless vocal chords._  
_He just wanted her to know how much he loved her.._  
 _Perhaps this could be his chance! -- She shields him from the silver moon's rays pouring in from the window with her shadow as she slowly leans down, her breath ghosting over his face tickling his nose before covering his full lips with her own._

_It is as if an angel has kissed him._

_Sensual, loving, unadulterated, pure and full of purpose._  
_He had to keep reminding himself to breath or else she would inhale the cold wind of life right from his lips, just like the angel of death would herself. Kurou hadn't noticed how long his lips had laid slack and unresponsive until he felt her hands hands slide their way up from his chest and caress the sides of his face tenderly, smoothing her dainty fingers over the softness of his skin like a passionate lover would. Leave it to his Akira to be able to coax every numbed nerve ending in his body to miraculously inflame with vitality once again, and have him deepen the passionate kiss with what little strength he had left._  
 _Though he knows this beautiful heaven can only last for so long when he senses the bitter taste of copper coat her tongue from his, confirming that their worst nightmare is becoming true. He never wanted the moment to end._

_Near the time of death they say your entire life flashes before your eyes, but he didn't want that. No, the white-haired shinobi only wanted to be able replay this moment over and over again like a broken record, so he could relish in a never ending kiss with the one he loved most. If that were possible then nevermore would he feel the fear of his demise, and only be content with the warmth of her lips caressing his._

_But yet all things have to end, and finally so did he..._

   
At the time she had thought it was the first and last kiss she would ever receive from him, but now here he is, tightly enclosing her within his sheltering arms, and silently demanding an explanation for his inability to remember the reasons leading up to that moment of bittersweet bliss.

"You _are_ really here, I can guarantee you that." She reassures him while pressing her ear closer to his chest right where his heart is.

"Or else your heart wouldn't flutter like mine whenever you hold me like this, and your warmth wouldn't surround me better than the dawn's early rays of sunlight hitting my back as I made my way back home to you."

With every genuine word spilling from her lips, he feels himself finding it more difficult to maintain his composure. The bitter loneliness radiating from her has him feeling slightly devastated by her suffering. He can only return her calm and determined gaze with a look sympathy as she pulls away from him ever so slightly to catch his silver eyes with her own.

".. _That_ is how I know you're here."


End file.
